Betrayed But Not Broken
by Mixt
Summary: After coming in second in the Kalos League, Ash returns home to his some of his old traveling companions who have turned their back on him. 1 year later he uncovers a new plot after many unexplained kidnappings. Ash soon learns everything is not as it seems. Especially when it comes to the betrayal.
1. Betrayed

14-year-old Ash Ketchum inhaled the fresh Kanto breeze. He had just finished his journey through Kalos and was on his way to his mother's house with the best friends he could ask for, Serena, Clemont, Bonnie, and of course perched on his shoulder is his partner in crime, Pikachu.

He couldn't wait to get home as apparently his mother had called his friends in from all their respective regions to join him in celebrating placing in the Kalos league. Oak also called him up congratulating him and expressing his interest in studying Greninja, with Ash's permission of course to which Ash happily agreed. Even though seeing old friends is great and all Ash especially couldn't wait for the chance to go back to the lab and see the pokemon who shaped him into the man he is today.

"Come on guys my house is just down this stretch!" Ash yelled sprinting ahead with Bonnie following closely behind.

"Ash! Hold on!" Serena yelled as she stared to run after him while holding her hat to her head so it didn't blow away in the breeze.

"Ash! You know I hate running!" An already exhausted Clemont yelled from behind trying and failing to keep up with the other three.

XXXXXXXXXX

Ash came to a stop in front of a petit two story white house mostly surrounded by a white picket fence.

"Ah home sweet home!" Ash said as he just stood there for second.

"Pika!" Pikachu chirped from Ash's shoulder.

"I know buddy, I can't wait to see everyone too." Ash said happily as he thought of all his journey's through Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Kanto (again), Sinnoh and Unova.

"Serena, Bonnie, Clemont..." Ash started but was a little startled to only see two girls in front of him. "Where's Clemont?" Ash asked.

No answer just a silent and slightly disappointed looking Bonnie pointing out toward the road they came from. In the distance, you could just make out a Luxray carrying a single body on its back whom Ash presumed to be the inventor.

"You two can go inside if you want I'll stay here and wait for the poor thing." Bonnie said waving her hand at Ash and Serena.

Serena raised an eyebrow "I don't think I've ever heard you call your brother 'poor thing' before Bonnie."

Bonnie shot her a look "I was talking about Luxray." She deadpanned.

"Oh." was all Serena could manage at that comment.

"Come on Serena, I can't wait for you to meet Brock and Misty and Cilan…" Ash would've gone on but Serena just knocked on the door herself insisting on actually meeting them instead of talking about meeting them although she was feeling more and more threatened the more Ash spoke of all of his previous girl companions. Especially with how high he holds them at heart.

'Does he hold me at the same level as he does with the others' she thought to herself before shaking the thought out of her mind as she was about to meet those whom she'd heard so much of.

She and Ash entered the house leaving a very impatient Bonnie tapping her foot waiting for Her brother and Luxray to catch up to them wondering how he could have fallen so far behind

"This is bad even for him." Bonnie said as she stood there thinking she was going to be waiting a while.

Suddenly a streak of black shot out of the grass and skid across the ground stopping right in front of the young girl. She just stared as there in front of her was a pokemon she'd never seen before. It had white fur spreading across his torso and a beautiful mane stretching down to his forelimbs. It had a very sharp blue tail and attached to its head was a Blade like appendage. The mysterious pokemon just stood there scanning the area for a moment before hearing faint traces of Ash's voice coming from inside the house.

'Damn it! I didn't get here in time. Arceus is going to kill me for this one. You'd think after all the times I've had to warn this kid about something I'd be an expert at keeping up with him by now' The stray pokemon thought to himself

Bonnie slowly approached the pokemon "What pokemon are you?"

The pokemon jerked its head up, knocking itself out of thought before dashing off 'Unfortunately it's past the point where I'm able to help. He's on his own now.'

Bonnie stood star struck about what had just happened "I wonder what that pokemon wanted."

Finally, Luxray caught up to Bonnie with a half passed out Clemont on its back.

"You know Brother maybe we should ask Korrina for some skating lessons so you can keep up with the rest of the world." Bonnie joked looking at her exhausted brother

"Shut…up…Bonnie." He said between breaths

XXXXXXXXXX

Ash had spent the last few minutes introducing Serena to his mother who didn't seem to be too interested in his new friend which raised a few flags in his mind but he decided to push it to the back of his mind since he didn't feel like starting something the second he got home. With her were all of his old traveling companions minus Brock. Paul and Anabel were there too.

Suddenly Bonnie and Clemont walked into the house "Hey Ash there was a weird pokemon outside the house."

"It's okay Bonnie," he started "it was probably picking berries out of our garden in the back. Happens all the time. Anyway, now that you two are here, Introductions!" He finished cheerily

"Serena, Clemont, Bonnie, I want you to meet Misty." He said pointing to the redhead who seemed to be fixed on Serena for some reason "She was the first person to ever travel with me." Suddenly Ash felt immense pain as he could feel electricity coursing through his body before finally letting up and leaving Ash soot cover and unable to move his hands.

"Ash!" Many of them screamed

"First human to travel with me." He corrected himself. "Better Pikachu?"

"Pika Pika" Pikachu agreed.

"Next is Tracey," Ash stated, "Tracey works here as Professor Oak's assistant here in Pallet and…" Ash was going to go into more detail but Tracey stopped him

"Ex-assistant." Tracey remarked

"What? You were fired?" Ash asked confused.

"No," Tracey said irritated "I became a full-time researcher! You'd know that if you kept in touch."

Ash sweatdropped and chuckled nervously. He decided to move on because he didn't want any bad blood between him and Tracey.

"Anyway, here we have May and her brother Max. May is…"

"The Queen of Hoenn." Serena finished for him. She then looked to see a stunned Ash "Sorry Ash, I didn't mean to cut you off but I've seen her on TV before and when you said her name it finally clicked. I've seen her perform. She's really good."

May smirked "Thank you Serena. Good to know my reputation precedes me."

"And what about me?" Max questioned excitedly

"Sorry never heard of you. No one's ever said anything about a brother." Serena said in a very soft tone trying not to offend him. Max drooped back down in sadness

"Then there's Brock." He began to look around but didn't see him. "Hey, where's Brock? We can't celebrate without him."

Delia stepped forward "Brock's going to be a little late because he had a family matter to attend to but He'll be here shortly. But Ash there's something we need to-"

"Oh. Well Brock amazing.'' Ash said turning back to his Kalosian Friends "Closest thing I have to a brother. He shooting to be a pokemon breeder and has spent the most time traveling with me out of anyone. You'll see he's the best but he does proclaim love to every pretty girl he sees so... yeah just be careful around him for the first time Serena."

Serena couldn't believe her ears. Ash Just indirectly called her pretty. She was exploding with happiness inside to the point where she didn't even care what was going on her for the next few minutes while he introduced Iris and Cilan.

He walked towards Anabel who was sitting in a chair waiting for her introduction. "Anabel," he said as he went to hug her "I definitely didn't think I'd see you here." He finished pulling away from the hug which shocked many people because they never thought they'd see Ash interact with a girl in that way.

"What are you doing here?" I thought you weren't supposed to leave "Guys it's my pleasure to introduce the Frontier Brain herself Anabel the Salon Maiden."

Anabel started to chuckle "That may have been a little over the top Ash." She said Jokingly. "It's nice to meet the three of you and any friend of Ash's is a friend mine."

He then noticed a certain Bluenette had been hanging back in a corner of the room holding a Piplup in her arms.

"Hey Dawn!" Ash said walking towards her with an outstretched hand expecting their trademarked High Five however he was treated with just silence from both Dawn and Piplup, bith refusing to meet his gaze.

Ash began to pick up on something at that moment "Alright something's up with you guys. The only slightly nice response I got from any of you was from Anabel. My own mother couldn't be interested or bothered enough to say Hi to my new friends." He said gesturing to the Kalos gang. So, what happened? Did I forget one of your birthdays or something?"

"Among other things." Cilan muttered

Ash rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry. I've just been so busy traveling, I guess I forgot. Livin' on the road isn't easy."

Delia stepped forward "Ash how many leagues have you been to?" She asked

"Why does that matter?" He asked, very confused at this point.

"Just answer honey." She replied smiling at him.

He knew something was up now. The wasn't his mother's usual smile. He couldn't say how but it was different than the smile he'd come to know and love. "Six" he answered

May spoke up "And out six how many have you won?" She said in a very careful tone. It was like she was afraid of upsetting him or something.

"None." Ash answered still trying to grasp what was going on.

Cilan walked towards him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't you think that could be a sign for something. Maybe you don't have the palate you thought you did."

Ash was still lost but got some horrid feelings just from the undertones of their voices. However, Clemont and Anabel had already pieced it together. The condescending tones, thee fakeness in their expressions, and now bringing up his dream, it pointed to one thing.

Clemont spoke up as he had enough of this "If you've got something to say to Ash you might as well say it right away instead of dragging out the conversation." He said in a very irate tone.

Ash looked at the inventor. He had never heard Clemont speak in this tone before. Not even to those stupid Flare grunts.

Anabel was on the same level of anger as Clemont but was happy to see Clemont wasn't happy about what was happening either. "If you don't get to the point soon Clemont and I can just take Ash to see his pokemon who I guarantee will have better attitudes that the lot of you." She said crossing her arms.

Serena stepped forward "I agree. There are better things for Ash to do then dwell on his past losses. He should be preparing for the next league so that when he enters he's sure to win." Serena may not have known exactly what was going on but she definitely didn't like the tone some of these 'friends' of Ash's had.

"That's the thing! We don't think you should enter another league you stupid kid!" Iris shouted

Ash's face darkened. Here he was with all of whom he thought were his friends. And half were telling him to quit on the dream that for four years brought him so much joy. He then looked back at Serena, Anabel, and Clemont.

'At least there are people I can count on' He noted mentally.

"Just try to hear us out Ash." May tried to reason "There's nothing wrong with changing your career Brock did it and he's the happiest he's ever been!"

"Brock wanted to change his career! He wasn't happy as a gym leader! I'm happiest when I'm with my friends training my Pokemon so not only do I achieve my dream but so they can too!"

"Ash I even found a great site to help you build up a resume to help you get a job towards your new career." Delia said bringing over her laptop.

Ash eyed his mom "So you're really on their side with this, huh Mom? You want me to quit my journeys and stay here instead of pursuing the only drive I've ever had? What do you want me to be a connoisseur like Cilan? Or maybe you want a researcher like Gary. Well I say No. I control my destiny and I choose to be the best. Not just the best, but a trainer like no one ever was. I may have lost the Kalos league but placing second isn't grounds for giving up!" He ranted to them all.

Delia looked at him "Ash please try to understand. You rush into every situation containing an organization like Team Rocket or Team Galactic. Trouble won't find you around every turn if you were to just stay in Pallet Town. And also, I love Pikachu as much as the next girl but after watching you jump off a tower just to save a pokemon I just don't think you're in the right mind to be running around endless regions!"

"Excuse me!?" Ash was thoroughly pissed now. 'She didn't just say that' He was about to go off on her but was stopped by Anabel who put her hand on his shoulder.

Ash turned to face the psychic "Anabel, she more-or-less just said I should have let Pikachu…" He couldn't even finish the sentence. "Let me do this please." He begged

Anabel just smiled and pointed towards his mom. When Ash turned back around he was surprised to see Serena face-to-face with Delia glaring straight into her eyes. Serena then did something He'd never thought he'd see Serena do. Serena smacked Delia across the face. HARD. Hard enough that Delia dropped the laptop on the floor.

"How dare you!" Delia hissed.

"How dare ME? How dare YOU!" She screamed "That is Ash's best friend! Even as a mother watching her son jump off a building, you should have some sense of happiness to have a son who's willing to go that far for someone he cares for. A small part of me wishes he wouldn't act so rash just for the sake of others but that's exactly what I fell in love with him for!" For once in her life Serena was talking about Ash inan affectionate way and wasn't blushing. At the moment, she was too angryto blush.

"I couldn't agree more." Anabel said. "I don't want him to stop until he achieves what he was born for. I love the selflessness that Ash show for everyone. People and pokemon alike."

Clemont walked forward to where Ash and Anabel were standing "I'll always be by his side for all those times he's been by mine!"

Bonnie joined them as well "He's more determined than any of you will ever be."

Then something that Ash never thought would happen occurred. Paul of all people joined his side too! "Well isn't this interesting." He sneered. "You come to make amends and run straight into an intervention gone wrong. You know Ketchum maybe we better just leave. You know I don't like lowering myself to be in the presence of those who don't deserve it." He finished. "I came to see Infernape, not your psycho mother."

"Psycho?!"

Ash ignored her. "How could you guys do this to me? I care so much for you guys. We shared so many memories together!" He saidd. He couldn't tell if he was angry at them or about to go into depression over what was happening.

"Really Ash? Because you seem to replace us with every region you go to. I don't expect the Kalosians to understand because you haven't been to a new region yet but we all see what you're doing." An annoyed Misty said.

"You're wrong Misty," Ash stated shaking his head "There's room in my life for all of you! I'm not replacing you I'm just making more friends."

"Then why do you never contact us?!"

"I don't know! I just always figured we run into each other again eventually, I guess!" Ash said raising his own voice back.

"And that's enough for you?" Cilan asked. "Is that all we are to you? Only good enough to see once every three years! No letters, no cards, no nothing!"

"If none of you can see the value that Ash brings to your lives then I'd say you don't deserve him. He'd give the world for any of you." Serena summarized.

"Not anymore." Ash said gravely with fire in his eyes.

"What?" Anabel asked.

"Honestly, after hearing how much each one of you cares for me. It's obvious who I'd choose." He said with a smile. "I'm going to grab my pokemon from the lab and then I'm leaving. If you two want to come with you can." he said gesturing to Anabel and Paul. "And obviously since you three live there you'll be welcome." He said to the Kalos natives. "And as far as any of you go, I'd better not see you again." He said to the rest of them.

Ash got up and ran outside with anger seething from inside him. With Pikachu riding, firmly on his usual shoulder. They were almost at the end of the road that led them to Ash's house when he accidentally ran into someone.

Ash looked to see a slightly taller, tan man of who he was glad to see.

"Brock! Am I glad to see you." He said relieved it was his longtime friend.

"Hey Ash!" Brock said giving the younger trainer a hug "It's been too long. Sorry I'm late had to help my folks with the kids."

"Brock do think I'm weak?" Ash asked. 'I have to know where Brock stands' He thought to himself.

"What? Ash why aren't you at the house with everyone else?" He quizzed not completely understanding.

"Do you think I'm unfit to be a Pokemon Master? Do you think that it's impossible for me to make it?" He pursued.

"Well out of everyone who sets out to be a Pokemon Master only one in a million actually make it…." He trailed off.

A dark look formed on Ash's face 'He's with them. My best friend. My Brother.' a million thoughts were racing through his head.

"But if anyone has what it takes it's definitely the young trainer I've known since he was just starting his journey. Just promise me when you make it, you won't forget about me." Brock said smiling

Ash was happy beyond belief "Thanks Brock."

"Where's all this coming from Ash? This isn't like you, and you still haven't answered my question. Why aren't you at the house? Your mom said I'd find you there."

"She's not my mother." Ash told him coldly. "Anyone who treats me like that isn't my mother."

Brock put a hand on Ash's shoulder. "Ash what's wrong with you today. This isn't the guy I traveled four regions with. Please if somethings wrong I want to help"

"We all want to help you Ash." A voice said from behind them. Ash whipped around to see Serena and Bonnie standing there smiling.

Ash smiled at the sight of his two loyal friends. "Brock this is Serena and Bonnie two friends from Kalos."

"Nice to meet you Bonnie." He said as he shook her hand.

"Nice to meet you-" Bonnie didn't get to finish that sentence because Brock quickly moved on to Serena down on one knee in his usual begging stance.

"Dear, dear, Serena beauty radiates from you like heat from the sun. Allow me one date and I promise I will make all your dreams come- '

"BROCK!" Ash yelled "This really isn't the time for this. I know she's pretty and all, but could you just hold out for a little while please?"

Brock immediately snapped back to reality. "Ahem…" he got up from his position in front of Serena "Sorry about that Ash are you going to tell me what's wrong now?"

"Well It started with Mom not being her usual self and being kind of rude to Serena, Then Iris said They didn't want me to compete in leagues anymore because I keep losing, Misty said that I was replacing my old friends every time I went to a new region and Dawn wouldn't even talk to me or acknowledge my existence. Thankfully Serena, Anabel, Clemont, Bonnie and Paul are still on my side but I just couldn't take it so I ran out of there." He finished.

"I can't believe them it isn't like Misty or Dawn to be so cruel. Especially towards you!" Brock exclaimed hoping with all his heart that this was some kind of sick joke.

"Yeah well-" Ash started but was interrupted when he heard his name being called from the distance

"ASH!" The Kanto native turned once more to see the rest of Anabel and Paul running towards them.

Anabel lunged towards Ash and wrapped him in a hug.

"I'm so sorry about all this Ash. I should have realized it sooner. I'm so, so, so sorry." Anabel said on the verge of tears.

"What are you apologizing for? You stood by me when I needed it most!" Ash said dumbfounded on why his empath friend was sobbing.

"I should have known!" She started. "I sensed something was off with May and Max from when I saw them last. There was something resentful in their aura's."

"It's okay Anabel I don't blame you." He said trying to comfort her "They're just a bunch of assholes. I'll get over them eventually." He assured her

"Pika." Pikachu agreed somberly nodding his little head once.

"Now let's get my pokemon and get out of here.

"You don't understand Ketchum. They got some of your pokemon to turn on you too. And the ones who refused and chose to stand by you, they plan to give to other trainers to keep as their own." Paul said in his usual calm monotoned voice

"What?! We have to stop them! Call out any Flying type pokemon you have!" Ash grabbed to pokeballs from his pockets. "Go Noivern and Talonflame!" He yelled releasing his two Kalos pokemon.

"Go Honchkrow and Gliscor!" Paul called as threw two more pokeballs into the air.

"Go Metagross!" Anabel said as she threw her pokeball as well. "Mega Evolve!" She shouted holding out a pendant from around her neck. "He may not be a flying type but he can carry someone."

"All right," Ash started, "Bonnie and Clemont get on Talonflame. Paul take Honchkrow, and Brock will take Gliscor. Anabel, you go on Metagross and Serena and I will take Noivern. Now let's go save my Pokemon!"


	2. Battle At the Corral

I'd like to give a special thanks to Temporal King for all of his suggestions! I'm always up for hearing what you guys want to happen. So if there's something you want to see happen just PM me and I'll consider it. However besides one of Ash's pokemon NO ONE will be forgiven and I will not be changing the shipping which as of now is Amourshipping, Abilityshipping, and maybe Ikarishipping. Other than that I'm up for suggestions.

St. Elmo's Fire - The reason I didn't come out and say what I was planning to do differently was because 1. I wanted to keep everything a surprise and 2. I haven't read every betrayed fic so I can't promise that they haven't seen anything before.

Thor94 - Thank you unfortunately not all the pokemon on your list will stick with Ash. And personally I disagree with you I don't think he's replacing them, he's just an easy person to be friends with

TheFightingHarmonic - Thank you and I hope that I really will do something you haven't seen before.

As Ash and what is left of his traveling companions flew across Kanto towards professor Oak's laboratory Ash couldn't help but dwell on one thought. He thought back to what Paul had just told him a couple minutes ago.

 _"_ _You don't understand Ketchum. They got some of your pokemon to turn on you too."_

He couldn't help it. He had always thought of himself as a pretty good trainer. Sure, he didn't always make the best choices and sure he didn't win every battle, but he always did what was best for his pokemon. He couldn't believe any single one of them could even think of giving up on him.

"Hey Paul," Ash yelled "You sure they convinced my pokemon to turn on me like they did!? How can you be sure they got to them!?"

"Because your friends are a bunch of idiots who truly think that everyone around you thinks you're weak like a Magikarp. The idiots should've made sure I was on their side before they started explaining to me what I was supposed to say in order to break you."

"Why didn't you try to stop them? You could've tried something!" Serena said half angry and half curious.

"They would have confronted you with or without me. However, since I was there to listen in on their conversation, I could warn you that your pokemon are in trouble. So, if I were you, I wouldn't lecture me about not stopping them Blondie." Paul said putting emphasis on the last sentence and extra emphasis on the word blondie.

"Good to see that you've still got that tough exterior, Paul" Ash said nonchalantly.

"Just because I've mellowed doesn't mean I plan on being all love-dovey with everyone like Blondie and Lilac Girl."

"Hey! This isn't the time to be making fun of people, we're almost to the lab!" Anabel said pointing ahead of her.

"So, Paul do you know which of my Pokemon stood up for me." Ash asked eager to see who his true friends are.

Paul just shook his head "When Misty and May were talking to me about what they were planning, Misty mentioned that out of all the pokemon at the lab only ten of them were on your side. And out of those ten they only said Charizard and Bayleef by name. Something about Charizard's loyalty and Bayleef's crush, whatever that meant, were factors that made them especially difficult to convince." Paul started. No one noticed but Ash got really embarrassed when Paul mentioned Bayleef's crush. "I'm fairly certain, from what I know about him, that Infernape wouldn't leave you like this either. He's too loyal for that. I just wish I had been that loyal with him while he was with me." Paul hung his head half in shame and half in sorrow. He may still be a ruthless trainer, but he truly regrets what he had done before Ash had gotten through to him.

"Hey, don't beat yourself up so much, Paul." Ash said looking at the purple-haired boy. "You may not be able to change the past, but you can always make up for it in the future. By standing by me, you've already shown how much you've changed since our encounters in Sinnoh." Ash gave him a smile that Paul couldn't help but smirk at.

"You know Ketchum? Those idiots are really missing out." Paul said.

"Guys, we're here!" Brock said gesturing down towards the lab.

"Alright guys, land in that cluster of trees down in the corral, got it? And be stealthy about it." Ash ordered them.

The pokemon descended in a nosedive towards a small forest like portion of the corral where Ash hoped they could stay hidden until he got his pokemon back.

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"So, first things first, we need to find out which side of the spectrum Professor Oak is on. That will make planning this a lot easier." Brock said.

"I can help with that." Paul said. "Back before you got home, I had a meet up with someone who's close to Oak. This person asked me if I was on board with their plan. When I said no and convinced them that they could trust me they started explaining stuff to me. This person said that Oak's been acting really suspicious and out of character lately. I'd say it safe to assume he's one of them." Paul said

"Who was it?" Ash asked.

"Don't Know." He answered

"Well what did they look like?" Serena asked

"Don't know." He answered again.

"Well what do you know?" Clemont asked trying to move the conversation along.

"They had a cloak and hood on so I couldn't see their face. They said it was dangerous for them to even be there as Oak might start suspecting something. They told me that Oak had been interacting with people they'd never heard of and these people never showed their faces to anyone. Oak's research has also gotten harsher on pokemon lately so I'd say don't trust him."

"Why didn't you tell us you had a contact on the inside?" Anabel asked expecting a good reason for him to keep it a secret.

"You never asked." Was all she got, however.

"So, what's the plan Ash? I'm pretty sure a full-frontal assault wouldn't work since Oak has a huge influence over many of these pokemon." Serena said as she observed the corral.

"The plan is me, Pikachu, Paul, and Clemont will go inside and grab my pokemon while the rest of you wait here." gesturing towards everyone as he mentioned them.

"What?! But we want to help!" Serena yelled infuriated that Ash wouldn't let her help. "Do you think I'm not capable enough?!"

"Yes." Paul deadpanned.

"Shut up, Paul!" Serena said getting even more mad.

"Serena, Paul knock it off." Brock said calmly "If you're gonna fight someone, save it for someone like Misty or Dawn." He finished in a very authoritative tone. "Please continue Ash."

"I never said you were incapable Serena. In fact, in order for this to work you all have to be at your best. The reason Paul and Clemont are coming with me is because Clemont's inventions are key to getting us inside."

"They are?" Clemont asked confused on why Ash would put so much on the hopes of his invention's success.

Ash just nodded. "Also, Paul's hands down got one of the strongest teams I've ever seen. So, if I need back-up in there he's the guy who's probably going to work the most efficiently." Paul smirked at this.

'Damn straight' he thought to himself.

"But if we all went in together you'd have even more backup." Bonnie suggested

"Sorry Bonnie that's not going to happen. The less people who go inside, the better. One because we need a small group so it doesn't get crowded. And two, if everyone went in that's just more of a chance that someone will get hurt, and I wouldn't be able to live with myself if one of you got hurt.

"Brock's seen most of my Pokemon so he's on watch out duty in case one of them comes by here. If you do see one of them coming signal somehow for everyone to hide until the coast is clear, okay?"

Brock nodded. "What about the pokemon I haven't seen before?" He asked.

"If any pokemon you haven't seen before sees you and has a questionable reaction it's best to gently knock it out just to be safe. Finally, with what I'm planning, it's safe to assume someone will catch us in the act, and since if he is with Delia and the others, Oak has probably already gotten buyers for my pokemon thanks to the sheer reach he has across the regions, they probably won't let us go without a fight. That's where you girls come in. He said addressing Serena, Anabel, and Bonnie. "I'll need you guys to wait here and cover our escape when you see us running back here, everyone understand?" When everybody had nodded Ash turned towards the lab "Good let's go."

Ash started to walk but someone grabbed his arm stopping him in his tracks.

"Ash, wait." Ash turned to see Anabel holding him back "You still don't know which pokemon were the loyal ones. How will you know which Pokeballs to grab?"

Ash realized Anabel was right. He only knew of Charizard and Bayleef, and it wasn't like Oak would just tell them which pokemon were still on his side.

"Actually," Paul interjected "My contact inside knows which pokemon to grab. They'll also do their best to help us escape."

Ash nodded "Alright Clemont, Paul let's go! Girls, Brock, have your pokemon out and ready by the time we get back." With that Ash, Clemont, and Paul sprinted towards the labs' back door.

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It took a while to reach the door to the pokeball storage room as they had to avoid as many pokemon as possible so as not to be noticed and raise any alarms. They eventually came to a metallic, cobalt-coated door with a keypad to the left of it. Clemont quickly kneeled in front of the keypad and pulled out his invention that Ash had put so much faith in.

"If my new 'Secret Combination Finder'," Clemont started.

"That's a stupid name. Why don't you just call it a 'Decoder' like everyone else?" Paul interrupted.

"Listen Paul, I may be no good with names, but that doesn't matter all that matters is that it works and that we get Ash's pokemon before we're too late!" Clemont commented as he started to mess with the various button on the device. After around a minute of them just standing there Clemont stood back up

Clemont sighed "I'm sorry Ash, it wasn't good enough, _I_ wasn't good enough. It failed to find the code."

"The device was never supposed to work." Ash said with a smile.

"What?" "Pika?" Clemont and Pikachu asked thoroughly confused. The device then suddenly started beeping. Ash quickly snatched the device from Clemont and chucked it at the door. He then proceeded to push Paul and Clemont to the ground while simultaneously diving into the grass himself.

Seconds later they heard a small explosion go off where Ash had thrown the device and looked to see a hole in the wall just big enough to crawl through.

"See?" Ash said "You did your job perfectly. Now let's go, it won't be long until Oak comes to investigate".

Ash, Clemont, and Paul crawled through the small opening the invention had created to find themselves surrounded by aisles and aisles of shelves filled with pokeballs.

Clemont began to look around shocked at what he was seeing. "Woah there are so many! How do you know which are yours?" Clemont asked

"Sadly, that's the hardest part of the mission." Ash replied. He was sure it'd take forever to look through all the aisles to find his.

"Psst. Ashy-Boy." A voice called from somewhere else in the room.

"Wait a second. Only one person has ever called me that. Gary?" Ash asked

Gary Oak came out from one of the aisles with a smirk on his face carrying a small, red, and white duffle bag around his shoulder.

Ash's eyes widened "My Pokemon! Gary give them back!" He snarled

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As Brock's group sat outside waiting for Ash to give them some sort of sign that he was ready for them, they couldn't help but marvel at the sheer number of pokemon that were gathered at the corral.

"Oak must have over a thousand pokemon in this side of the corral alone!" Serena observed wondering just how many trainers Oak has been helping through the years as a professor.

"And this is just his influence in the world of pokemon trainers." Brock said not as surprised as Serena about the number of pokemon but still a little shocked at how many pokemon there were. "I can't express just how treasured he is when it comes to gym leaders."

"It isn't any better with my fellow frontier brains." Anabel stated. "Scott will believe anything Ash says out of pure respect for him and there's the fact that Scott knows Ash would never do anything horrible. But if Oak isn't on our side with this, I'm afraid of the kind of effect it could have on not only everyone around Ash but Ash himself."

"Makes you really hope Oak is with Ash on this." Bonnie said

"He isn't." A voice said from behind them.

The group turned around to see a man in a long white lab coat who seemed to be somewhere in his sixties staring daggers at them surrounded by four pokemon. He had a Muk, a Noctowl, a Krookodile, and a Dragonite with him, all of which looked very well trained and powerful.

"Professor Oak!" Anabel and Brock yelled at the same time.

"Indeed." He said "Good to see you all. Now Noctowl Psychic on the young blonde girl, Muk grab the one with purple hair, Krookodile grab the honey haired girl, and Dragonite get Brock." He ordered.

"Oh no you don't!" Brock said grabbing a pokeball from his pocket. "Go Steelix!" Anabel got the idea too "Espeon you too!" She yelled pulling out her own pokeball

"Ice beam on their hands!" Oak yelled to his faithful pokemon. Dragonite's mouth quickly became surrounded by icy winds and snowflakes before firing a narrow beam of ice at the breeder.

The ice beam hit right before Brock could throw the pokeball. He now stood there with his right hand, still holding Steelix's pokeball, encased in an oddly shaped block of ice. He looked around to see that Anabel was in the same situation as him and Noctowl's psychic had already immobilized Bonnie. It wasn't long before Dragonite and Muk had gotten a hold on Brock and Anabel. Serena had Braxien out and was trying to fight back but Ash's Krookodile was trained for brute strength while Braxien was mostly trained for performances.

"Finish it with Earthquake!" Oak said to the crocodile.

Krookodile slammed his foot onto the grass and the ground around the began to shake vigorously. As soon as the powerful shifts in the ground took their toll Braxien was knocked out cold with cuts and bruises everywhere on her body.

"Braxien!" She shouted running to her side. "Quick! You have to heal her! I'm all out of potions and berries! She's gotta be in serious pain right now!" She shouted at the pokemon professor.

"I'm afraid that's just not going to happen. If I heal your pokemon you could just keep using it against me. Not that it would change anything." He said condescendingly.

"Braxien return." She said recalling the fallen fox pokemon. "I'm sorry. I'll get you help as soon as possible."

"Krookodile, if you will." He said glancing at the Krookodile.

Krookodile grabbed Serena by the wrist. Despite the fact she had no chance of escaping due to Krookodile's strength, she decided to put up a struggle anyways.

"Now I have a proposition I think you'll all find quite agreeable. So, listen won't you?" He said with a smile on his face.

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"Give em back before I get really mad Gary!" Ash said in a voice

"Relax Ashy-Boy." The researcher said putting his hands up in front of him in defense. "I'm here to help. Though he may be my Gramps, I'd gladly go against him after something as shameful as what he did. In this bag, you'll find Charizard, Bayleef, Bulbasaur, Buizel, Staraptor, Quilava, Sceptile, Infernape, Gliscor, and Snivy. Take care of them kid, they really believe in you." He said with a smile.

"So it's confirmed then. Oak's really turned on me. He was the closest thing to a father I've ever had, and just like Delia he turned on me."

"Sadly. How did you think they would be able to illegally sell your pokemon without being caught. Luckily, they were planning on selling them tomorrow so I was able to grab your pokemon beforehand."

"KETCHUM!" the four of them heard a familiar red head's voice scream from outside.

"All right then. I guess they figured us out. Clemont and Paul let's go. The plan can still work as long as we can get past Professor Oak. Gary stay in here and hide. There's a chance your grandpa doesn't know you've helped me so if you stay out of sight, there's a better chance of you getting away with helping without any consequences." Ash said to which Gary nodded. Gary quickly handed the duffle bag to Ash than ran back and exited the warehouse full of pokeballs through a door Ash assumed leading to the main research lab.

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Ash, Paul, and Clemont walked out to see Oak, Delia, and Ash's ex-friends all standing there, pokemon out. They were met with a Piplup, Gyrados, Scyther, Dragonite, Mr. Mime, Crustle, Blaziken and all of Ash's other pokemon. He also saw that they had found his friends in hiding and took them hostage with Ash's Krookodile holding Serena, Ash's Muk holding down Anabel, Oak's Dragonite holding Brock, and Ash's Noctowl holding Bonnie via Psychic.

Ash scowled at his group of traitorous pokemon and Pikachu's cheeks started crackling. "I treated you guys with nothing but love, care, and respect," he stated looking at them all. "and what do you do? You try to keep me from doing what I love. I know you think that I was just going to leave you at Oak's forever and replace you with every new region I visit, but you can't listen to a word these guys say! You guys are like family to me! I wouldn't replace you! Please come with me!"

However, despite his begging no one seemed to be changing their mind. Ash was left with no choice, he wanted with all his heart for his pokemon to just listen to him, but they weren't and in this type of situation one thing ran through his mind.

 _"_ _If you aren't with me, then you're against me."_ He thought to himself while picking two pokeballs out of his bag.

"Sceptile, Charizard! Let's go!" He yelled letting out his pokemon as red aura began surrounding him. "You too Pikachu." He said looking

"Pika." he nodded jumping off Ash's shoulder and getting into battle stance cheeks crackling with electricity. "Pika Pika Pikachu

"Luxray come out and help!" Clemont called his loyal pokemon.

"Magmortar you too!" Paul said releasing his own. Suddenly he noticed as was being engulfed in some kind of red transparency force.

"Ketchum. What's wrong with you? You're glowing red and it's starting to freak me out a little." Paul asked.

"I don't know." He answered, "I've never felt this kind of rage before." He turned his attention back to Oak and his group "Now I'll give you fuckers one warning." He said getting madder by the second "Let my friends go and let us leave before you really regret it."

"Ash my boy, I just can't do that. You see my associates really want you here in pallet for the rest of your days. Besides you're not really in the position to make demands." Oak said as he raised his hand into the air putting his pointer finger to his thumb ***snap*** As soon as he snapped his fingers Dragonite tightened its grip on Brock making Brock immediately scream in pain.

"Okay, okay! Charizard, Sceptile, Pikachu stand down." The three relaxed from their battled stances. Charizard had a very irritated look on his face and shot Ash. Ash assumed it was because he wouldn't just let Charizard start tearing heads. Ash sighed "What do you want Oak?!" Ash asked

"What I want is to give your two friends there an offer they can't refuse. Sadly, these four," He said gesturing to Brock and the others. "have refused me at every point. But you two seem to be smart gentleman so how about this? My employer is wealthy beyond your wildest dreams. If you help me take care of Ashy-boy and I will fund any inventions for you in the future," He said to Clemont. "and give you enough pokedollars to afford as many plane tickets as you want so you can travel the world's regions until the day you die!" The elderly man finished "So what do you two say?"

"Absolutely not you old coot! Even if I hated Ash with all my guts, I could never work with someone as despicable as you bitches." Paul refused.

Clemont sighed "I'm sorry Ash."

"Wait. What?" Ash said terrified.

"Come on Luxray." He said addressing his loyal pokemon.

"Lux Luxray?" The sphinx pokemon asked

"I mean it! Let's GO!" He yelled at his pokemon in a harsh voice. Luxray looked at Ash for a moment before putting its head down in shame and following his trainer.

"Clemont! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Paul shouted enraged that Clemont was a turncoat.

Clemont put his hands up in surrender and began walking towards the other group slowly so as not to provoke them. "I really am sorry but do you know how much I could use a grant for my inventions? This could be my big break! I hope you understand."

Ash couldn't believe it, He thought he couldn't be any more hurt than he already was but here he is heartbroken that another friend has left him for trivial materialistic reasons. "You too. Clemont? Really? Is my friendship worth that little to you that you'd give it up for Oak's money?

"Brother don't do it! You can't be shallow like these losers." Bonnie shouted

"Clemont you're better than this! We can find someone else to give you a grant! Can't you see what they're doing? They're using you!" Serena shouted.

"Krookodile, Noctowl, shut those bitches up! Knock em out!" Tracey Shouted.

"But make it painless!" Dawn shouted.

Everybody looked at Dawn expecting an explanation on why she should care so much. Oak's group because she isn't supposed to care about them, and Ash's group because that a little kinder than what they expected from the traitors at this point.

Poliwrath and Krookodile both mustered up a Brick Break and a Steel Wing strong enough to knock them out but weak enough to make it somewhat painless and proceeded to chop the back of their heads.

"Clemont don't I get a better explanation?!" Ash asked going a bit crazy right at the moment.

"Ash, you taught me two of the most important lessons of my life. Confidence and Courage. Without you I wouldn't be doing what I am now. Clemont turned around quickly and kicked Oak right in the Netherlands causing the old man to fall to the ground.

He then proceeded to jump on top of him and grab him by the collar "Get that Noctowl to let my little sister go before I get my Bunnelby to dig you a grave, and I promise you I'll make use of it!" Clemont said staring the old professor straight in the eye.

Since everyone was in such a state of disbelief for a couple moments Ash figured this would be his only chance. "Pikachu go free Brock. Sceptile get Serena. Charizard grab Anabel. I don't care how ruthless you are to the pokemon but be careful of my friends. Paul handle the other pokemon! Got it? Go!"

Charizard shot forward at an amazing speed and smashed right into Ash's Muk lifting him off of Anabel and into the air, careful not to hurt the empath per Ash's orders. Charizard didn't stop though, once he had a good hold on the traitorous Muk he drove him right into a tree not slowing down for a second. As soon as he had Muk's back against the tree, he drove his strongest fire fang into the sludge pokemon and knocked it out. He then proceeded to throw Muk over his shoulder like a piece of trash. He then roared a cry of victory and shot a flamethrower into the air.

Ash looked to see Anabel lying on the ground where Muk had been holding her. "Anabel!" He yelled running towards her. "Are you okay?!" He asked as he dropped to his knees in order to check on her.

"I'll live. However, I suggest you help Serena and Brock. At the moment, they need it more than me." She said in a weak voice. It was obvious Muk had really done some damage to her, which is something he couldn't forgive. If his friends weren't still in danger, he would've given Muk a revive then kicked Muk's ass all over again, but now wasn't the time.

"Infernape! Staraptor! Come on out!" He yelled releasing his monkey and bird pokemon. "Anabel is too weak to defend herself at the moment. I think Muk poisoned her somehow. I'm leaving you two in charge of guarding her from anyone who might try to grab her again." His two loyal pokemon nodded and Ash turned toward Sceptile.

Sceptile meanwhile was very happy to be going blow to blow with a traitorous pokemon as well. He had already gotten Serena out of the clutches of Krookodile but had yet to defeat him.

Ash took this chance to get Serena. "Sceptile push him back. Make sure there's a lot of ground between him and Serna!" Ash yelled to his friend. Sceptile nodded. He crossed his two arms in front of his face in an X formation as the leaves on his arms began to glow. "That's it buddy. Hit him with your strongest leaf blade!" He yelled again. Once he was fully charged up he dashed toward Krookodile. Before Krookodile could react Sceptile slammed his bladed arms into Krookodile's chest launching him 10 meters back.

Ash ran to where Serena had been lying on the ground. "Serena wake up! Serena!" He yelled however Serena wasn't waking up. "I'll have to carry her." He guessed. He picked her up bridal style and began running to where Infernape and Staraptor had been defending Anabel from some of Ash's old pokemon whom ash assumed had been ordered to recapture them.

"Sceptile use leaf tornado! No holds barred! Full Power!" Ash called to his Gecko friend over his shoulder as he lay Serena down by where Anabel was. Leaves began to gather in one giant circular formation around Krookodile before the formation began to shrink and close in on the crocodile pokemon. Soon it was just a small tornado with leaves flying and cutting Krookodile left and right. Eventually it was too much for Krookodile and he passed out.

"Good job Sceptile! Return my friend!" Ash said as he called his pokemon back to his pokeball.

Ash looked to see how Pikachu was doing well, but realized since Dragonite still had a hold on Brock, there wasn't much Pikachu could do.

"Infernape return!" He recalled his loyal friend "Anabel, I need you to do me a favor and let Staraptor fly you and Serena to my old house. No one should be there so you should be safe and if anyone gives you any trouble Staraptor will take care of it right old boy?"

"Star!" It purred at him in confirmation.

"See? And you've got Espeon and Metagross too. You two are the most important people in the world to me. That's why you're getting out of here first. As soon as we free Brock and Bonnie we'll come after you. Besides you don't want to be here for what I do to these bastards for brainwashing my pokemon." He finished.

"Brainwashing?" Anabel inquired

"Yeah. How else would they get my pokemon to betray me like this?! It has to be some kind of psychic attack from a pokemon."

"Oh Ash, I'm so sorry, but they're not brainwashed." Anabel said with a sad look on her face. "I'm an empath, if they were being controlled I'd sense it, and they're not under any sort of outside influence. Everything their doing they want to do. I'm only telling you this because you deserve to know. But I do feel something within Dawn. I couldn't get a real good idea of what's happening but I know that she isn't like Misty or Oak. Please make sure you bring her back too, for me.

Ash felt like crying. All this time he thought his pokemon were just being controlled but they really didn't like him anymore. At the same time though, he'd found that Dawn might still be the same girl he'd met in Sinnoh so many years ago. That sadness soon turned into rage. If this is how they want it then he wasn't going to hold back on his old pokemon!

With Muk and Krookodile out of the way, Ash focused on Dragonite. _'Not going to hold back'_ the words rang in his head again. "Bayleef come out and use Razor Leaf, Quilava use Flamethrower! Help out Pikachu by hitting Dragonite in the eyes" He said releasing two more of his pokemon. As soon as the two pokemon hit the ground they fired their respective attacks at the dragon's eyes making it immediately cover its eyes in pain releasing Brock in the process. Meanwhile Luxray had just finished off Noctowl which released Bonnie too. With Brock finally out of the way Pikachu gave Dragonite the strongest thunderbolt he had ever produced knocking the giant dragon out.

"Bayleef, Quilava, return." Ash said recalling his two pokemon. He ran over to Brock who was about to call out one of his own pokemon. "Brock, don't! Go Gliscor!" He called out his next pokemon. "Brock take Gliscor back to my old house. Serena and Anabel are already there waiting." He finished

"What about you and the others?" Brock asked

"We'll be right behind you." He answered "Clemont!" He yelled getting the inventor's attention. "Grab Bonnie! We're leaving. Noivern Take them back to my house!" He called as he released his bat pokemon.

"What are you waiting for Gliscor? Get Brock out of here!" Though he didn't want to leave Ash he nodded and he and Brock left.

As soon as Noivern was let out of it pokeball it shot towards where Bonnie had been lying unconscious. It proceeded to pick her up with its mouth, transfer her over to its wing and finally rested her on his back. "Vern!" It called at Clemont.

"Luxray return!" he said as he pointed his pokeball at him. Once returned Clemont ran to where Noivern was waiting and jumped on top of him. "All right let's get out of here!"

"Oh no you don't!" Iris shouted "Dragonite stop them now Ice Beam!" She ordered her own Dragonite.

"Togekiss Safeguard! Protect Clemont and Bonnie!" Dawn called to her pokemon.

"Dawn, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Oak asked enraged as Noivern and the two siblings made it out safely thanks to her. "What I should have done in the first place. Togekiss Aura Sphere on Iris's Dragonite, then use Air Slash on Cilan's Crustle! You two get out of here while I hold them off!"

"You don't have to tell me twice." Paul said recalling all his pokemon except Honchkrow. "I'm over this whole mission!" He said as he mounted his bird pokemon.

"Gyrados, use Hyperbeam on her pathetic Togekiss!" Gyrados complied. It turned its head towards Togekiss and its mouth became surrounded by as strange powerful force. Gyrados fired its most powerful attack at Togekiss who was preoccupied trying to cover Paul's exit. As soon as the attack hit her she was knocked out cold.

"Togekiss!" Dawn screamed "Return old friend." She called.

"Dawn come with me!" Ash said which surprised her considering how she was treating him not long ago.

"Why? What are you going to do to me?" She asked terrified of the boy's wrath that he had clearly shown throughout this whole ordeal.

"Anabel told me you weren't like them. If you care about me in the slightest then come with me and Charizard!"

Paul hearing this swooped down on Honchkrow and stationed himself right next to Ash. "Are you sure about this Ketchum? Wasn't she fighting with them a minute ago?" He asked.

"I understand you worries, but if Anabel trusts her then I'll give her a chance." Ash said with a smile.

Dawn shot forward and hugged him. "Thank you, Ash, I promise this will never happen again!"

"Okay then. We're finally out of this dump!" Ash cheered forgetting the situation he was in.

"ENOUGH!" Oak screamed pulling out a small handgun. "If Dawn wants to go with you then fine! You will, however, hand over your pokemon. My employers are paying a small fortune for each of them. Now unless you want lead in your bloodstream, I suggest you give them to me! I've trained with Officer Jenny before so I promise I won't miss." He threatened

"You don't scare me! You should know I'd gladly take a million bullets for any of my pokemon. Which reminds me," He said glaring at his other pokemon "consider yourselves released. Have a nice life."

"If that's how you want it then I'll have to stop you dead in your tracks." Oak said pointing the gun at him. But right before he pulled the trigger a Shadow Ball knocked him over and making him miss the shot by far.

Ash looked to see to see Paul smirking. "Don't try it old man! Ketchum grab Berlitz and let's GO!" He yelled.

Ash nodded as he jumped on Charizard's back and seconds later helped Dawn up as well. "Hold on tight, okay? And don't think you're off the hook, you've got a ton of explaining to do or I'll bring you right back here." He told her to which Dawn just nodded.

Oak finally got back onto his feet and recovered his gun. "Everybody stop Charizard and Honchkrow!" He yelled pointing at the two pokemon trying to escape.

"Gyrados Hydro Pump!"

"Crustle Rock Wrecker!"

"Blaziken Overheat!"

"Dragonite Dragon Pulse!"

"Mr. Mime Psycho Cut!"

All at once the five powerful moves were fired at Honchkrow and Charizard. "Charizard use Fire Blast to stop all five moves in their tracks."

"Trying to stop a combined force of five moves with one move? How naive is this kid?" Iris said not understanding the situation as well as Ash did. Meanwhile Charizard turned to face the attack coming towards them. He quickly sucked in his gut and let the fire in his body fester for a second before letting out a huge breath of fire in the shape of the kanji sign for fire, and, as Ash expected, it successfully stopped all five attacks at once.

"What?! How can any Charizard be that powerful?!" May asked. Apparently, she had no knowledge of Charicific Valley.

Oak meanwhile had picked himself off the ground gun in hand. "I gave you a chance my boy." He said pointing the gun at Ash which immediately caught a certain mouse's attention. "And I told you I never miss." He said pulling the trigger. Before Ash and Charizard could react, Pikachu got down off of Ash's shoulder onto Charizard's back behind Ash. He stretched his arms out in defense and protection of his trainer and prepared for the worst. Ash turned just in time to see Oak's bullet come in contact with Pikachu's back.

"PIKACHU!"


	3. Pikachu's Fate Dawn's Redemption

'Lady Arceus, Lady Arceus!' A frantic pokemon called soaring down a long corridor. This particular pokemon was jet-like in appearance with a body containing simple cephalization and red wings and arms that mainly just conform to the body. It also downed a red triangular shape on its forehead and a blue triangular form on its chest.

She flew out of the aforementioned corridor and arrived in a room that was bigger than any rooms any human had ever stepped foot in. At the south end of the room was a giant pokemon. Arceus, the creator of the world of pokemon, a god among gods. Everything that has exists, does exist, and will exist has and will be her doing. She has complete control save for two loopholes in the Universe's laws. One; perfection is impossible, even for a god, anything she brings into the world can backfire and two; she can create all she wants but she can never interfere with what goes on. Once it's created, it's not up to her. All she was able to do was create a disaster pokemon with the purpose to warn people of impending danger. She must live here, with the rest of her children whom she created to be protectors of every person, region, and rights.

'Lady Arceus!' the eon pokemon yelled one last time.

'What is it Latias?' Arceus finally answered.

'It's your chosen! You should see this!' She called to her superior.

'And what is it exactly that I'm watching young one?' Arceus asked unaware of the outrage that this one act would bring to The Hall of Origins.

'It's some of the Chosen's past companions they've turned on him! He was lucky to get away safely but it might have cost him too much.' Latias explained

'What do you mean by 'cost'?' Arceus inquired.

Suddenly three rings opened up from the floor and more pokemon came out of said rings before they disappeared. The first of them was a humanoid psychic cat-like pokemon. 'The Chosen's Pikachu is in critical condition. I have witnessed their bond for myself first hand. It's something I've not seen in any other trainer.' The psychic explained telepathically lowering his head. 'It is likely that if his Pikachu does not make it, the Chosen will be changed forever. And not in a good way.'

The second of the three pokemon who was also appeared to be a cat but on a much smaller scale than the previous psychic as well as being much cuter. 'It's possible he could give up battling all together. You can imagine the trouble this could cause considering how many times the world has turned to him and his skills in times of need. Also as I'm sure you know with how strong his aura is, intense moments of rage can unleash a devesting amount of power whether it be physical or psychological.' The small cat explained

The third pokemon finally got to speak. It had a form like a dog. It was entire body was just variations of white and blue's with long flowing purple hair and ribbon like structures for tails. 'I'd say we better make sure the Pikachu survives for the sake of The Chosen's mental state.' It spoke. 'I believe that is the best course of action if he is to continue with his journey.'

'I am sorry my children but I cannot do that.' Arceus retorted calmly. 'I have told you all many times that I am not allowed to interfere only create.' Arceus said with her usual dominant toned voice.

'Then create something to help The Chosen!' Mew yelled

'That would count as interfering, now wouldn't it? Besides if he is to truly defeat his demons he must do it with his own strength, not ours.'

'Surely you can make an exception for The Chosen. Have you forgotten all he has done for us?' Suicune said not believing its masters decision.

'I have not forgotten. However, it is not our place. Everything that happens to him from here on out is up to him and destiny. If I were to interfere it would undermine destiny itself, and if destiny has no meaning then the world will crumble as there would be no rules.' The pokemon spoke wisely. 'No matter the person, I am not to get involved and I must forbid you to as well. Besides, I am confident my chosen can rise above this challenge with help from his own species.' The Alpha pokemon said monitoring Serena, Anabel, and the others waiting for Ash to join them.

'Well what _can_ we do help?!' A very annoyed Mewtwo asked.

'The most I could have done was send my messenger to warn him. However she was too late and The Chosen did not get the message.'

'So we just sit around here while the young one's Pikachu is dying?' Another pokemon said appearing in the room. It was very reminiscent of a deer with many antlers with different highlighted colors on each. 'I could save the Pikachu at the very least.' It said

'I'm sorry Xerneas. While you have the power to do that, this Pikachu's fate has already been decided.' Arceus responded.

'If you don't help him then we will!' Even more pokemon, all of which Ash had interacted with in one way or another on his many journeys, began to enter the room. The one who was speaking at the moment resemble a phoenix in the fact that the bird pokemon's wings were constantly on fire. 'That boy has made more selfless choices than anyone I could think of so it's time we return the favor!'

'I must forbid you as well. Did you not hear me? Destiny is at work here and we are not in its plan!' The giant pokemon roared. Everyone was a bit scared. Arceus rarely yelled and when she did there was murder in her voice. 'Everyone is not to seek the chosen or his friends. Have faith in his abilities.' She finished.

'What about Jirachi? He was caught a while ago by that trainer he found worthy. If he were to come across The Chosen or the boy he bonded with years ago he could interfere.' Mewtwo added observing the scene.

'There is nothing I could do about Jirachi, however, under no circumstances are the rest of you to seek him out. I will inform young Jirachi of what has happened and suggest he stay away from The Chosen but whether he meets up with Ash again is up to him and his trainer.' Arceus finished

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Meanwhile back on Earth, Ash, Paul, and Dawn were still in shock of what happened. Charizard and Honchkrow suddenly shot forward towards Ash's house in order to get out of the lab before Oak could pull the trigger again.

While Ash and Dawn were still too star struck to think Paul had finally snapped out of it.

"Ketchum! Get it together! What's your plan now? Do we go back there and wreck shit or not?"

Ash finally came to his senses. "Right, Paul go to my old house and tell everyone to meet me at the pokemon center here in Pallet, they're our best chance of helping Pikachu." Ash commanded the Sinnoh native

"Got it. What about the traitor?" He asked curious of what Ash had planned for the Bluenette.

"No time to talk! We're out of here, Charizard full speed! The center is in the heart of Pallet Town!" Ash yelled. Charizard nodded and flew forward at a speed Paul had never seen any Charizard reach.

"Well Honchkrow we've got our orders. Let's go grab the others." Paul ordered his loyal crow. "Krow." He chirped as he began gliding through the air. "Hopefully Ketchum can handle this, otherwise I might have to keep him from murdering Oak."

"Honch!" the bird pokemon screech as it nodded its head

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Professor Oak meanwhile was headed inside the laboratory to contact his superiors and give them the bad news. He entered the code to the back door into the small keypad. The door began to open slowly in a garage door fashion.

He walked past the many aisles of pokeballs collected from the various trainers that he sponsors. He reluctantly opened the small door that led into the main portion of the research lab and sat down at his computer. As he slowly typed in the number of his employers he began to fully grasp the situation he was in. Suddenly the small computer screen was occupied by a vision of a high-end office. There was a rather expensive looking desk in the very front of the room. There was a chair that looked equally expensive with its back turned to the screen.

"Greetings Professor. I assume you have done what I have asked of you. The boy is without pokemon is he not?" the concealed man asked in a very menacing voice.

"Well mostly, he did get away with some of his pokemon, but the majority of the pokemon even aided me in the attack against Ash. Many of his so-called friends helped as well, to my surprise." Oak responded hesitantly. He was really hoping that he wouldn't have to tell him which pokemon Ash got away with.

"Yes his friends were rather weak and easy for me to manipulate. Who would've thought the friends of the Chosen One would be so weak. Now how many and which pokemon did he get away with." The dark, still concealed man rightfully asked.

'Shit.' He thought to himself. "Well you see sir, that's the complicated part." He stated. "He got away with ten of the pokemon he had as well as his Kalos team." The pokemon professor informed him.

"Which means he still has his Greninja?" The figure asked anger beginning to build in his voice. "Who else does he have."

Oak sighed "Charizard, Quilava, Bayleef, Bulbasaur, Snivy, Staraptor, Sceptile, Infernape, Gliscor, Buizel, Hawlucha, Noivern, Talonflame, and Pikachu. I'm sorry sir. However the Pikachu is in critical condition and in all probability, won't make it."

"But the Infernape and Charizard, were of the utmost importance! I don't care about his Snivy or his Bayleef. As long as he has those two pokemon, my plans for the future are in serious jeopardy you dumbass! I hope you have a plan to make up for your mistake!" The man yelled in a fit of rage.

"Well I suppose I could fabricate some sort of offense to get them taken away from him and given back to me." He said rubbing his chin.

"No! Actually you can't Gramps!" a voice said from behind them

Oak turned around to see his grandson standing in the doorway with a small device in his hand.

"Gary! How long have you been there? And what's that in your hand?" Oak quizzed him forgetting that the strange man was still on the monitor behind him.

"Long enough. And this is a tape recorder. It's a model Officers Jennies use to record conversations while undercover and then send the conversation back to the station. Jenny owed me a favor so I asked if I could borrow one. I have every word from the last five minutes right here." He said waving the device in front of Oak."

"Gary if you just let me explain, then you'll see this isn't what it…" The baffled professor started.

"This isn't what it looks like. Yeah, yeah, I know. I've been watching you gramps for the past couple weeks. You've changed, you've become so materialistic and shallow you'd turn on Ash for a small fortune. I don't know who that is," He said pointing at the monitor. "but as soon as I press this button this recoding will be sent to Officer Jenny. That should be enough to keep you from getting to Ash. Thanks to me you can't control Dawn anymore either. I hate to say this but you deserve to be put away Professor."

"Now Gary, you don't want to do that, son. I'm your Grandpa. You don't want to send your grandpa to jail for a few measly threats to a trainer that's never going anywhere do you?" Oak tried to reason with his rebellious grandson.

"That _trainer_ happens to be my friend! And no you're not going to jail for threatening Ash, you're going to prison for attempted pokemon trafficking." He said as he put his finger to the tiny red button on the recorder. He was about to push it before he was interrupted yet again.

"Gary, was it?" The man on the monitor said. "Before you press that button you should know that I have quite the number of connections. Do you remember a boy by the name of Red Hiriyashi?" He asked the researcher.

"Yeah. He was that up and coming pokemon trainer who died for unknown reasons a couple years ago. Police looked for a cause of death for months but they couldn't find a cause or a culprit. Eventually it was declared an unsolvable cold case. What of him?"

"He disappeared because he crossed me. Be assured that if I did it once, I could do it again, young researcher. Press that button and share his fate." The man, still shrouded threatened.

"So be it. If that's what Arceus has planned for me then I accept my fate." Gary said pressing the button.

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Meanwhile, at the Pallet Town Pokemon Center Ash and Dawn were waiting outside the operating room located in the very back of the building in complete silence. Dawn was thinking about all that had transpired today. She wanted Ash to understand her side of the story, but she wasn't sure he'd believe her.

"So," Ash said snapping her out of her trance "why'd you do it, Dawn?" He asked willing to hear her out.

"What?" She responded not believing he'd actually listen to her.

"You heard me Berlitz, why? Why would you side with them over me, your best friend? Did they offer you money and fame and you figured 'Yeah, why the hell not?', or were you just sick of me like the rest of them were? What could they have given you that was worth more than my friendship?! Oh, and be warned, if I don't like your answer, I'll have Paul have a 'talk' with you."

"Ash please just listen it's not what they were giving me it's what they took from me." She responded somberly.

"What?" Ash asked anger quickly turning into confusion.

Dawn sighed, put her head down so she was facing her lap, and began to explain to explain what had gone on just 6 mere hours before Ash got home.

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Dawn was walking down a narrow gravel road through the quiet, peaceful Pallet town with her best friend and partner, Piplup, in her arms. After walking for around 5 minutes she arrived at a small, quaint, white house. She walked up the small pathway leading up to the front door.

'I can't wait to see everyone.' She thought to herself. 'It's been so long. Wait until I tell Brock and Ash about my placings lately. It'll be nice to see May and Iris as well.' She politely knocked on the buildings front door and stood there waiting for someone to answer it. "You ready to see ash and Brock again Piplup?" She asked to her loyal friend.

"Piplup!" The young penguin pokemon replied happily.

The door opened slowly revealing a woman looking to be around her 40's wearing a plain green dress. She had brown hair pulled into a ponytail behind her hair. To the left of her was a Mr. Mime wearing an apron for some reason.

'Weird.' Dawn thought to herself. 'Though I guess without Ash someone has to help.'

"You must be Dawn! Oh, you're adorable!" Delia said wrapping her in a hug. "Johanna has told me much about you! Says you have been placing in the top 3 for the last four contests. Really making a name for yourself, huh?" She queried.

Dawn's face lit up at the compliment. "That's what I'm hopin' for. Are Ash and Brock here yet? I really want to see them!" She said still blushing from Delia's comment. Despite being a performer with many fans she still wasn't used to being complimented by complete strangers.

"Ash and Brock won't be here until a lot later but that's okay because we have a lot to talk about." Delia answered with a weird type of tone in her voice of which Dawn couldn't identify.

"Oh. okay." Dawn said shooting a quick glance at Piplup. 'There's something weird about the way she said that. Maybe I'm overthinking it, after all she's related to Ash of all people.' Dawn quickly followed the older women in only to be ambushed by someone else.

"Dawn I've missed you so much! Oh, wait till' I tell you about the Hoenn Grand Festival." The girl squealed.

"I've missed you too May! I've got a lot to share too!" Dawn said happy to her old friend as well.

May and Dawn spent the next hour telling each other of their accomplishments since they last spoke to each other. As well as sharing their other interesting experiences and contest tactics. After talking so long about contests she couldn't take it anymore. She wanted to talk about something else. Mainly Ash and Brock. She was so happy to see May again, but even May couldn't come close to the bond she shared with the two boys. No one but maybe her pokemon could. She'd be nowhere without them.

"So May," Dawn started "You've told me all about your contests. But I know so little of your travels with Ash and Brock. Why don't you tell me about it? I'm really interested in learning what they were up to before they met me."

"Brock was cool. Always there to provide insight like a big brother I never had." She said smiling "He knew just what to say and when to say it. And don't get me started on his cooking!" She finished with genuine happiness in her voice.

"I know! He has that kind of effect on people. When he's not ogling every pretty girl he sees and constantly getting turned down." Down said sweating at the last part.

"Believe it or not there was one girl back in Hoenn who actually didn't mind his mindless flirting! In fact she seemed to be enjoying it!" May said laughing

"You don't say? Figures. There has to be someone for him." Dawn said laughing as well. "What about Ash. I'm sure you had good times with him as well."

"If by good times you mean having two separate teams of villains, one wanting to cause an apocalypse by sea and the other an apocalypse by land, then yeah we had a great time." May said rolling her eyes "His insensitive ass put our lives at risk more times than I could count just to stop some villains when the Jennies could have taken care of it." She finished with a huff of anger.

"Yeah," Dawn said putting her hands in her lap and looking down at her partner who had fallen asleep in her arms. "but if Ash hadn't come along there's a chance they could have succeeded right? I mean, if they were at large then maybe Officer Jenny really could have used the help. And because you went with him you got to do some real good in this messed up world!"

"Look Dawn, you're my friend so I won't dance around the situation. Ash is not good. For anyone." May said with a mad look on her face.

Neither of them noticed but as soon as May finished her sentence Dawn's pocket began to shake.

"What the hell are you talking about?! Ash is our friend isn't he?" She said incredulous to the situation.

"Look Dawn, He's reckless, uncaring, and a threat to everyone he comes in contact with. When we were fighting Team Magma Brock told me Ash is a danger magnet, so let me guess, you got tangled up with a team of criminals you never would have met if you wouldn't have traveled with Ash, didn't you?" May asked already knowing the answer.

"Yes but if I had played it safe I wouldn't have Ash and Brock as friends." Dawn stated. 'What is she getting at. Ash always spoke so highly of May, nothing but compliments. So why is she acting like this?'

"Is it such a bad thing if you never met him?" May asked raising an eyebrow.

Dawn pocket began to shake again.

"What?!" Dawn said standing up completely lost as to where this girls mind was. "If I hadn't met Ash, I wouldn't be half the coordinator I am today, I wouldn't have met _you,_ I wouldn't have met Brock," She said continuing to count on her fingers. "and Ash wouldn't have given me…" She tried to continue but was interrupted by a bright white light which quickly faded revealing a large purple monkey with identical twin tails and two large hands on each tail.

"Ambipom!" 'God those things are harder to break out of the they look!' She thought to herself

Unlike Dawn Ambipom wasn't confused, she was _Pissed._ If looks could kill May would have been dead a thousand times over.

"Ambipom, pom, Ambipom." Ambipom yelled. Gesturing at May with its hands. While banging one tail fist into the palm of the other.

"Is that you Aipom?!" May asked "Don't tell me you're going to side with Ash. Then will have to keep you locked up in the lab with the others. And I don't want to do that."

Ambipom didn't say anything but just responded by growling at the brunette.

"You mean to tell me that you have all of Ash's pokemon locked away against their will like there some kind of uncontrollable animals!?" Dawn yelled getting madder and madder as the scene went on.

"I was personally against it, but Oak insisted that it was for their own good. They're just going to get hurt if they keep traveling with Ash. Only the ten that defended the fool are locked up. Don't worry we're having Gary keep an eye on them until Ash is gone. Gary promised he wouldn't let anything happen to them." May said.

Ambipom couldn't take it anymore it didn't care about any of Ash's turncoat pokemon but they were keeping the loyal ones locked up. She always thought of the group of Hoenn pokemon as part of her family.

'If I know Sceptile, and I do, he's one of those ten!' Ambipom thought to herself Ambipom realized the slim chance that all six of its Hoenn friends stayed loyal if there were only ten of them but she knew she could count on Sceptile. She also figured Infernape would be there considering the bond she'd seen in Sinnoh and that was enough to finally break her. She launched herself at May in an attempt to incapacitate her, or at the least break a couple bones. Her pounce knocked both May and their chair she was sitting in over. She used her stubby and less useful hands to pin May to the floor while getting ready to use her real fist to do some damage. Ambipom and May were tumbling around each trying to get the dominant position in this fight.

"Get this damn monkey off of me!" May screamed

"Ambipom please get off of her!" Dawn pleaded to her rebellious pokemon. She may not have agreed with what was going on but at the moment she still cared for May and didn't want anyone to get hurt.

"Mr. Mime use hypnosis on Dawn and Ambipom now!" A voice yelled from behind them.

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Dawn looked Ash straight in the eyes. Having finished the majority of the story, she was nearly positive that Ash knew where this was going. Her proof of this was the look of murder in his eyes, although she couldn't be sure if that was directed towards her or May and Delia.

"When I finally woke up from the hypnosis, Ambipom was gone. May told me that she couldn't have anyone interfere so she had Iris fly Ambipom to Oak's to be locked up with your loyal pokemon before it could do any damage. All I had to do was ignore you and stand with them and because May still wanted to be friends she promised she wouldn't let Ambipom be sold like the rest of them. I'm so sorry." She said putting her head down once more.

Ash stood up enraged the look of death and destruction not leaving his face. "You mean to tell me that you left Ambipom with Oak!? Now that you're with me do you know what they'll do to her?! I should have never trusted you with my friend!" He yelled at her. People all around the emergency room began to turn their heads towards the two as Ash became more and more enraged and final grabbed her by the collar and brought her up to less than an inch of his face, looking her straight in the eyes.

"If anything happens to her, I promise that not only will I take her back, but you'll regret the day I let you have her."

"Now you stop this violence!" A nurse Joy yelled running towards them. She and her partner Audino began to pull the two away from each other "This is a hospital, not a prison yard!" She yelled.

"Ash please calm down!" Dawn pleaded. "You're scaring me! I know you're pissed, but I have Ambipom!"

"She's okay?" Ash asked finally calming down.

Dawn nodded. "Right before you got to the corral, Gary approached me and gave me Ambipom back. He promised that he protected her from harm."

'Gary' Ash thought to himself 'Arceus, I love that kid!'

"Look." She said throwing a pokeball into the air. When the light faded a familiar purple monkey was standing in front of Ash.

"Ambipom," He began tears starting to well up on his face. He got down on his knees and wrapped his arms around his old pokemon. "Is it true ol' girl. Dawn really didn't have a choice?" Ambipom pulled away and nodded its head yes at its old trainer.

Ash wrapped Ambipom in another hug "I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you! But I'm so happy to see you! And I know Sceptile, Buizel and Infernape will be too.

"As for you," He said turning away from Ambipom and brought his gaze to Dawn "I still don't trust you but Ambipom obviously does, and Anabel told me you were different so you've got one more chance. Cross me again and I'll make sure you regret it." All Dawn did was nod. After all she did to him today, she found it generous he had only gotten physical once.

"ASH!" a voice yelled from behind them. Before he could react in the slightest he found himself on the floor of the hospital with a certain blonde girl snuggling up against him. "I'm so glad you're okay!" Serena looked up to see everyone looking at her including one bluenette she didn't think would be with him. "Ash. What is _she_ doing here?" Serena questioned wondering if his sanity had stayed intact after the fight.

"It's okay Serena, she's on our side. For now." He finished beginning to lift himself off of the ground.

"Paul told us everything." Brock said offering the younger man a hand to help him up. Ash quickly accepted the hand and gathered himself on his feet.

"Do they know if he'll…uh..?" Anabel started but didn't quite know how to finish it without setting him off. Which at this point was the last thing any of them wanted.

"I don't know. But he's been in there for over an hour and no one has given me any information on his current state." He replied to the young Brain.

"Ahem. Mr. Ketchum, I presume?" Someone said from behind.

Ash turned to see the pokemon doctor looking about as clean as you can get after extensive surgery.

"So doc, is my friend okay?"

The doctor slowly nodded yes. Ash felt most of the sadness and anger of his friends turning on him melt away after hearing his friend was going to be okay. Everyone was smiling, Serena was hopping up and down, and Brock quickly wiped the sweat off his forehead.

"However," the doctor started, "that's not to say he'll be exactly as he was before."

"What do you mean by that?" Brock asked thoroughly confused

"You said he was going to be fine!" Ash yelled not believing what he was hearing.

"Mentally Pikachu will stay the same as before, however whoever shot this Pikachu," Ash had decided not to tell the doctor who shot Pikachu out of fear of him not believing Ash and turning away his service. "they managed to hit him in the lower spinal cord which means…"

"He's paralyzed from the neck down." Brock finished for the doctor.

"Exactly. I'm afraid your friend will not be battling ever again, however be thankful he is alive. We will also provide some technology to help his mobilization problem later. At the moment I urge you to let him rest as he has not fully recovered yet. Take this." The doctor said handing Ash a small device. "When you here this pager ring it means that your friend has awoken and is ready for visitors. Do you live around here?" The doctor inquired raising an eyebrow.

'I can't go back home, and the closest place I could stay is Brock's house over in Pewter, and right now Pikachu needs me too much for me to be that far from here. So I guess I'm homeless at the moment.' Ash thought to himself "No, I don't." He answered.

"I'm going to recommend a hotel not far from here. You'll have to stay there as Pikachu will need at least a week if not more before he can leave here. Now why don't you kids go down to the cafeteria and grab some food? It sounds like you've had a long day." The doctor finished, turning away presumably to take care of his next patient.

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Ash was currently sitting at a cafeteria table with Anabel. He had his head in his hands, reflecting on all that had happened today. The friends who betrayed him, him not being able to go home ever again, the pokemon who abandoned him and the partner that couldn't ever battle again. The one who he promised to take with him on the road to be a master has had that stripped away from the mouse because he decided to protect Ash. Sure there were good things too, like some of his friends sticking with him, but it's just like picking a bullet to the leg over a bullet to the leg, sure he'll live but he still got shot in the leg. Anabel had offered to stay and watch him while the others got some food.

"This just in," They heard a reporter say from the four TV's facing all directions situated in the middle of the cafeteria. "the famed Professor Oak's lab has caught fire."

"WHAT?!" Ash got up from the table with Anabel following close behind and ran so they were in front of one of the small TV's blocking the view from many others in the cafeteria but Ash didn't really care at the moment.

"The Wartortle Squad is already on the scene and doing their best to extinguish the fire, however this may be too much for even them. As for fatality's only one Gary Blue Oak has been found. Strangely enough the leader of the Wartortle Squad has been standing by the young researchers body like it has some kind of connection to him. Also Professor Oak has disappeared entirely. The funeral for the young researcher has already been set for next Monday. More on this later." The reporter finished.

"Ash," Anabel said putting a hand on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry. I know how much he meant to you." She soothed.

Ash began to tear up for the seventh time in the last two hours. "He was the one who saved my pokemon and Ambipom from Oak and now he's gone." Ash said putting his head down. "He's done more for me than I could have asked for, and I wasn't there to save him! Some friend I am. I ran away without him after all he's done for me. I'm terrible."

"Ash, you know that's not true." Anabel said placing herself right in front of him. She put a finger under her chin and lifted his head up so he was looking her in the eyes. "If you hadn't left when you did Pikachu very well could be dead right now."

"She's right" A voice said from behind them.

They turned around to see Brock and Serena both of whom were holding two trays. "I know Gary." Brock said "He would never think anything bad of you. He knows you would never intentionally hurt him." He said with a smile.

"You are the most selfless person I know Ash." Serena said with her own smile. "That's just one reason why we care about you so much. Now come on. We got you two some food and after today you need it." She said beginning to walk back to the table where Clemont, Bonnie, Paul, and Dawn were waiting.

Ash, Brock, Anabel, and Serena all joined the others at the table and began eating. All except Ash.

"Ash why aren't you eating. You can't be weak from hunger when we go see Pikachu. He needs your full attention!" Serena said.

"Sorry Serena. It's just… well what going to do after all this? I mean I can't go back home. In fact I don't think I could stand to even stay in Kanto anymore. Not after all this. What do I do?" He asked on the edge of crying again.

"Well I knew this would happen so I made a plan." Clemont said

"What?! How?" Ash wasn't the only one who was surprised at this everyone, including Bonnie, had been staring at him.

"I know you're confused so let me explain." The blonde said pushing up his glasses. "I had intended only to ask the professor if he had any ideas however Professor Sycamore, who was disgusted by the actions of Oak and has promised to inform the authorities of what has transpired, has offered to take you in and give you a room at the lab. He said it's the least he could do after you know, you saving all of Kalos. He said to just call him if you like the idea. Additionally Kalos is a neighboring region to Kanto so visits to and from Anabel and Brock won't be difficult in the slightest!" Clemont finished.

"Yeah. I like that idea." Ash said thinking about it. It was perfect he had all his Kalos friends nearby plus the others wouldn't be far. "I can't thank you enough Clemont. I'll do it!" He stood up quickly and walked away to make his call.

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"Ash!" A tall, slender man said from the monitor. "How are you holding up? This can't be easy." He said with a sad look on his face.

"I'm better though Pikachu…" He began but decided not to bother Sycamore with it "Anyway, Is it true? I can stay at the lab?"

"Of course my boy! I can't tell you how boring it is here without you. But don't thank me I didn't come up with the idea." He said shaking his head.

"Really so I have Sophie to thank?"

"No actually it was Garchomp's idea! It took a little while for me to figure out what he was saying, but as soon as he overheard me and Clemont talking he began his game of charades. He really took a liking to you."

"Well tell Garchomp I'll be there in two weeks tops and we can catch up again. Thanks again professor. You've done more than I could have hoped I assume you have room for a few more pokemon at the lab."

"Of course Ash! Except I've heard that many of your pokemon left you is that true?"

"Yes." Ash said looking down at the floor. "All but my Kalos team and ten from the lab left me."

"I'm sorry Ash. I have much room as I don't sponsor as many trainers as Oak. I'll have Sophie prepare a room for you. How much baggage do you have?"

"Nothing but my pokemon at the moment. Serena's taking me shopping in the next couple of days but other than that, I've got nothing."

"Very well. I look forward to you and your pokemon's stay here at my lab. I'll see you soon." He waved goodbye and the screen clicked to blackness.

'It's not ideal, but at least I've got a place to stay for now.' He thought to himself.

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So a couple things.

1\. I'd like to thank anyone who Favorited, Followed, or left a review. you guys, for the most part, are the best

2\. Please don't ask me to update. This is a side project between school starting up in the next couple months, county fairs, and friends, you can't expect me to be writing at all times

Also I have a youtube channel where I make AMV's and whether you like AMV's or think they're the cringiest thing ever it still takes at least two months worth of editing with my current program and they will always take priority over fanfiction.

3\. I don't know if Kalos is actually close to Kanto, just roll with it

4\. There will be a time skip soon and I'm having trouble deciding whether to keep anabel true to the fronteir brains like the anime or go the same route as the sun and moon games so if you have a preference let me know


	4. 1 Year Later

1 year had passed since Ash had moved into the lab in Kalos after being blindsighted by so many he held dear. Though he hadn't heard from any of them besides hearing stories of May dominating the Unova contests every once in a while. The scars hadn't faded and he offered no forgiveness. He hadn't remained unfazed by the event either. After the funeral for his friend Gary, he just didn't feel the same joy inside he once had. He had fallen into a depression stage for a bit before his pokemon managed to get him past that, but he often thought back to that day and felt multiple horrible feelings surfacing weighing his heart down.

-11 ½ months ago-

"We are here today to honor the life of Gary Blue Oak, an up and coming researcher whose breaking research on the relationships between Zigzagoons and Sevipers will go down in history." A man dressed in all black said from his stand at the podium. "you all came today because you too will miss this young man. In the event of his death Gary had left behind a want for Ash Ketchum to speak on this day." The man said stepping down from the stage and making way for the young man.

Ash took his spot in front of all those gathered to honor the fallen researcher with a small Kanto starter following close behind him. While Pikachu was unable to come along due to his injuries, he brought along Bulbasaur and Charizard for emotional support and because, besides Pikachu, they knew Gary the best out of all his pokemon.

"My name is Ash, and this is my good friend Bulbasaur," Ash began gesturing to the small pokemon beside him. "I've known Gary since we were just kids at Oak's summer camp. I didn't always see Gary as a friend, in fact when I started my journey I loathed him. I saw him as a know-it-all cocky jerk who did everything he did just to spite me. It wasn't until my journey through Sinnoh that I began to see him for what he truly was, A brilliant man and a great friend." He said with a tear forming in his eye.

"When the reports said Gary was dead, I felt like I died a little as well. After his death I realized he did more for me than I could have ever imagined. Sure, during my Kanto journey he was showing off with his ten badges and ten cheerleaders, but that just pushed me to be better. Every time I thought of him, it made me even more determined, and whether he meant it that way or not, I thank him. He was there for me on the worst day of my life, he saved my pokemon and me on that day."

"Because of all this I'd like to ask a favor. To repay him for all he did for me in life, I'd like to give him a burial ceremony of my own in Kalos as a way to thank him in death." Ash said looking at the proprietor of the ceremony. "I'd be happy to pay for any expenses it may take to bring him to Kalos, and since Oak isn't here, and his parents aren't around I can safely say that out of everyone here you can trust me most to take good care of him."

Sure, he still had his good friends like Clemont, Bonnie, and Serena, who, thanks to living in Kalos, were only one call away. Brock and Anabel were also there whenever he called. Paul was a little more difficult since he was still a traveler running around somewhere in the Unova region with Dawn tagging along. Even with their continued support he just couldn't get past his old friend's betrayal. He became more observant, more reserved, and most of all less trusting. It's not like he didn't laugh or have fun anymore, he went out with his Kalos friends nearly every day and visited his pokemon several times a day. He just didn't really interact with anyone he didn't already know, not even pokemon. He still helped people out when situations called for it, but after that he made no effort to get to know you the way the old ash would have. Anyone outside his group of friends who tried to get close normally got ignored by him, causing his friends to have to apologize for him.

"Bay, Bayleef!" the young pokemon screeched running into Ash's room.

Ash's new room was nothing like his old room, in fact he made sure to make it different to not remind him of his days back in Kanto. The only similarities it shared with his old room were his many badges, trophies, and frontier symbols from his journeys that he had stolen back from his house in Kanto a couple days after the incident. He remembered that day clearly.

-10 months ago-

It was half past midnight in the small town of Pallet Town, where previous 'Pride of Pallet Town' Ash Ketchum was about to break into his old room, with the help of Paul and Anabel of course. When he moved out he couldn't bring himself to face his mother, so he never managed to recover his belongings.

"Alright. Paul, Anabel, stay here and keep watch, the last thing I need now is a 'breaking and entering' charge."

Paul just smirked and nodded his head at the young trainer and Anabel gave him a thumb up.

"Snivy come on out buddy." He said quietly tossing a pokeball in to the air.

"Sniiiivvy." The little grass snake yawned "Snivy! Snivy!" It yelled proceeded to smack Ash playfully with a Vine Whip.

"I know it's late old girl, and I'm sorry but I need your help for something. I know the badges you helped me win in Unova mean a lot to you, so I need your help to get them back. What do you say?" Ash asked his loyal pokemon.

"Snivy." She nodded quickly at her trainer.

"Great to hear. So, listen carefully. I need you to use Vine Whip to hoist yourself up to that window over there." Ash said pointing to a window above him. "Once you're up there, I need ya to use your sharpest leaf blade to carefully cut an opening in the glass. That window leads into my old room so after that all you have to do is travel downstairs quietly to unlock the front door so we can get my stuff and get out, okay Snivy?"

Snivy nodded and launched her strongest Vine Whip into the air and latched it onto the windowsill.

As soon as Ash saw Snivy had everything under control he turned back towards his two friends "C'mon." He said gesturing for them to come with him. The three of them ran back around the side of the house to the front door.

"Now we wait for Snivy." Ash said faithfully

"What if your mom or her freaky clown thing catches Snivy?" Paul asked leaning himself up against the wall of the house and crossing his arms.

"Your mom wouldn't hurt her, would she?" Anabel asked.

"First off she's not my mom. Secondly, don't worry about that. Snivy's way too careful and stealthy for that. And even if she does catch her Snivy's more than capable of fending off Delia and Mr. Mime."

Ash, Anabel, and Paul suddenly heard a small creak come from in front of them. They turned to see the door slowly creep open to reveal a tiny snake with a knowing smirk on her face.

"Good job, Snivy!" Ash said high-fiving one of her vines.

"Snivy," She said sadly "Snivy, Snive."

"What wrong Snivy? You did great!" Ash said

"Snivy." The snake replied gesturing for them to follow.

He turned back to his friends.

"Paul stay here and keep watching out for anything suspicious." Paul nodded and threw two pokeballs in the air revealing his Frosslass and Torterra.

"Anabel, let's go get my stuff."

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The three of them quietly made their way into Ash's old home.

"Anabel, Delia's room is here on the first floor, while mine's on the second, so I need you to stay down here and keep watch as well in case mom wakes up, okay?"

"Sure Ash, but I didn't bring Espeon with me so I won't be much help in a fight."

"That's fine Anabel, I don't intend on her finding us." Ash replied as he and Snivy made their way up the staircase. However, when they made it in to Ash's old room Ash couldn't believe his eyes.

In his room sat one box and nothing else. No bed. No TV. Nothing but a box with note. "Is this what you wanted to show me Snivy?"

"Snivy." She nodded.

He walked over to the box and picked up the note sitting on top of the box. He quickly opened it to see what was inside.

Dear Son,

I knew you'd come back for your stuff eventually. Unfortunately, a week ago I was a little short on our mortgage so I had a garage sale with all your stuff and it went swimmingly! I got just what I needed. However, no one wanted any of your trophies because they had your name engraved on them so I had no choice but to keep them. So, if you value them that much, then you can have them.

'Well so much for that.' Ash thought. "Oh, well. C'mon Snivy, I don't want to be here any longer than I have to." He said exiting his room with his faithful friend right behind him. At the top of the stairs, Ash got yet another unwanted surprise. At the bottom of the stairs lay an unconscious Anabel.

"Anabel!" Ash shouted jumping down the stairs then kneeling to her side. He put one hand under her back and the other under her neck and began to shake her lightly. "Are you okay, Anabel?!"

"Your little girlfriend's fine, son." A voice said from behind them. Ash turned to see his mother standing in front of himself and Snivy in her nightgown with Mr. Mime right behind her. "It's very rude not to take your shoes off in someone else's house. She was tracking mud everywhere so Mr. Mime put her to sleep. Unless you have a Chesto Berry pie on you that girl's going to be out for quite a while." She said giving Ash a sweet smile. "Your friend outside and his Pokemon were a bit tougher but my new bodyguards took care of him."

"Bodyguards?" He turned to see an Emboar and a Gigalith outside next to an unconscious Paul, Frosslass, and Torterra.

"Pignite and Boldore?" He turned to his mother.

"Professor Oak gave them to me before he disappeared and they've been quite the help."

"Using my old pokemon against my friends? That's low even for a heartless bitch like you Delia." He sneered.

"Satoshi Ashford Ketchum! How dare you speak to your mother like that?!"

"You're not my mother!" He shot back "You haven't been since you sided with Oak! I'll talk to you however I want! Snivy, I've got to carry Anabel, grab the box, will ya?" He asked his friend. While walking out the door to grab Paul.

As soon as Snivy had a good grip on Ash's possessions, she was approached by Delia "Well aren't you an adorable pokemon!" She said clapping her hands together "How would you like to be my personal gardening assistant?" She asked smiling.

"Snivy, Razor Leaf her." Ash said from outside. Not wanting to let her trainer down she did she was told and shot several razor-sharp leaves straight into the woman's forehead before strutting out with Ash's belongings.

From outside Ash turned to face his mother one last time. "Don't let us find you anywhere in Kalos. Pikachu may be crippled but he can still give a thunderbolt better than anyone else. Bye Delia."

* * *

"BAYLEEF" She screeched one last time while simultaneously ramming herself into Ash, knocking him over and out of his trance.

"Ohhhhhhh." He groaned. "What'd you do that for Bayleef?!"

"Bay. Bayleef" She replied continuing to nudge him violently.

"Uh, Ash?" A voice said from outside. In walked Professor Sycamore. The closest thing to a 'parent' Ash had left. Over the past couple months Ash had been beginning to see Sycamore as a father more and more as time went on. The man had taken him and his pokemon in at a time of weakness with no mention of rent, or having to return the favor, and had even provided Ash with money when those times arose. None of that even came close to what he had done for Pikachu, however.

-11 months ago-

Ash stood in the main research lab within Sycamore's facility with Clemont and Bonnie by his side waiting patiently for the Professor to arrive. He had called them to his lab to discuss something but never elaborated with Ash on what that was. It had been a week since that faithful day and a full day since Pikachu got out of the E.R. and they moved in with the Kalosian professor. Unfortunately, Pikachu, although 'recovered', wasn't with them due to him now being unable to move.

Professor Sycamore walked into the room with a clipboard and his assistant following close behind. He stopped in front of Ash and turned to face the young trainer and his friends.

"Sophie tells me that while all of your other pokemon interacted with the rest in the lab's corral, Pikachu stayed in your room the whole time. Is this true." He asked.

"Yes sir." Ash answered with a frown forming on his face. "He really wanted to meet the new pokemon, but now that he's disabled and paralyzed from the neck down, he had no way of getting around. Now that his legs don't work he can't even ride on my shoulder like he normally would. His arms just won' t hold him up anymore."

"Couldn't Sceptile or one of your other pokemon have carried him?"

"I think that would have been too embarrassing for the little guy." Ash answered.

"I guess that makes sense. Luckily if it's modes of transport that the little guy needs, the I might be able to help." Sycamore said walking over to his main computer.

"What do you mean Professor? You got something that can help Pikachu move?" Ash asked with a questionable look on his face.

"Not officially no." He answered sitting down in his swivel chair. "However, you could change that. With your permission, I could have something that could potentially solve Pikachu's problem. Look here." He ordered as a blueprint appeared on the large computer screen.

"What is that?" Ash queried staring at the rotating blueprints.

"It looks like some form of advanced living exoskeleton." Clemont said stepping forward and observing the large screen.

"Very good young one." A voice praised from behind. Ash, Bonnie, and Clemont turned to see a two-tone brunette man in a lab coat walking towards them. The man was just under Sycamore's height and looked to be around his 20's. "Although it's only semi-living. Most of it is machinery." He said taking a spot right next to Clemont.

"Everyone, it's my pleasure to introduce Mr. Yuuki. He's the best engineer and computer scientist in all of Kalos." Sycamore said gesturing towards the man who just smiled in return.

Ash look toward Clemont and saw the young inventor looked like he would collapse any second "Nice to meet you sir. I've read all about you!" He shouted awkwardly.

"Nice to meet you too, son. The same goes for you two, I've heard much about you all from the Team Flare incident. I understand you we all influential in their downfall, including this Pikachu, correct?" He asked eyeing them to which the three just nodded silently.

"Then I thank you for your service to Kalos and may be able to return the favor to you and your Pikachu." He said. "What you see on the screen is an experimental exoskeleton infused with skin cells and core DNA from a Ditto. With some surgeries to attach the exoskeleton to a few of the young Pikachu's nerves and some training it's possible he could learn to utilize it to its fullest abilities."

"You mean he'll be able to walk again!?" Ash asked excitedly

"Walk, run, jump, he'll be a whole new Pikachu. The suits powered by electricity so by using small pulses created by himself, he'll be able to control it all on his own. Not only that. It will never need to be charged thanks to Pikachu being an unlimited source of power, or replaced because of the Ditto DNA conforming as he grows. Don't worry about breaking it either, thanks to the Ditto skin cells morphability he can play as rough as the rest of them. The exoskeleton will also be able to give Pikachu power equal to his original muscle tone-"

"This all sounds way too good to be true, what's the catch?" Bonnie interrupted.

Mr. Yuuki sighed. "I was getting there. True Pikachu will be fully mobilized, but he will be unable to use any electric based attacks ever again."

"Why?" Ash asked.

Yuuki turned to face Ash with sad eyes "Anything above the small pulses it takes to power the exoskeleton will not only short circuit the machine but cause Pikachu to need to go through more surgery to remove and possibly replace it. The surgery isn't the safest of procedures either. Also, we're going to be operating on his nerves so no anesthesia. He'll have to be awake for the whole thing. Other than that, there should be no problems. But you're his trainer." He said shifting his eyes towards Ash. "It's up to you to weigh the options and make a decision."

"No. It's not." Ash said flatly but firmly. "This is Pikachu's choice. If he doesn't want to go through with this risk, then I won't make him."

* * *

"Ash are you even listening to me!?"

Ash snapped back to his room with Bayleef and Sycamore.

"Uh…sorry." Ash apologized rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "I zoned out. Could you repeat that, please."

Professor Sycamore sighed shaking his head. "I said there's a fight breaking out in the corral and it looks like Bulbasaur could use some help. I need you to see if everything's alright. You know the pokemon look up to you more than anyone else."

"Alright, I'll help. But first," Ash said getting up from his spot. "where's Pikachu?"

"He's with Sophie for his training with the exoskeleton. Sophie says that not only is he learning quicker than we anticipated but he's getting increasingly happier as the training goes on!"

"Yeah he's been super happy since that surgery." Ash said with a smile on his face. "How much longer until you think the training will be over?"

"Think of this as learning to walk again," Sycamore responded. "Don't worry, it's normal that it's taking this long."

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The two walked in to see Pikachu and Sophie practicing running through the power of the exoskeleton.

"Pikachu! How goes it?" Ash greeted his best friend.

"Pika!" It greeted back walking towards the young trainer.

"As you can see, he's already capable of walking and he can run short distances too!" Sophie said scribbling something on a clipboard. "It may be a while before he can climb onto your shoulders like old times, though."

Ash smiled as Pikachu closed the last bit of distance between them. "That's fine Sophie." He said leaning down. He gently wrapped his hands around the little mouse's body and lifted him up to his shoulder himself. "He'll get it eventually. In the meantime, nothing wrong with needing a little help." He said scratching behind the rodent's ear.

"Also, keep an eye on him at any time he's running. As I said, short distances are fine, but I don't want him running miles yet." Sophie ordered. "Other than that, you can go for today, Pikachu."

"Thanks Sophie." Ash said. "C'mon Pikachu. We're needed with Bulbasaur."

"Pika!"

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The doors to the corral slid open and Ash and his loyal friend stepped in. There were greeted by a small crowd of Pokemon all of which voicing their greetings. This crowd of pokemon was, of course, His pokemon. He received a separate greeting from each, per tradition. A flamethrower from Charizard, a tackle from Quilava, a vice grip-hug from Gliscor, knowing smirks from Buizel and Sceptile, each one had their trademark.

"Alright guys, I get it. I was just here last night you know." He said jokingly. "Now what's this I hear about a fight Bulbasaur can't solve?" He asked them. "Is it really that bad?"

To his surprise all his pokemon started talking at once. They were obviously trying to tell him what was happening, but with all of them talking at once, and in all different languages, he couldn't make sense of it.

"QUIET!"

All of his pokemon immediately shut up after their trainer's sudden outburst.

"When I asked that question, I was hoping one of you could be kind enough to show me the way, not yell." He lectured. "Sceptile, take us to Bulbasaur." The gecko pokemon silently nodded and started walking north of their meeting spot. "Good. Buizel, you come with too in case we need to break up a fight."

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The four came to one of the corral's small lakes scattered around the place for any strictly water based pokemon like Gyrados, or Feebas, or-

Suddenly an excited screech was heard from the East of where Ash and his Pokemon were standing. They turned and were greeted by a Dinosaur like pokemon speed surfing her way towards them. The large pokemon skid through the water down to a stop right in front of Ash before beginning to nuzzle him roughly.

"Lapras, I'm surprised you're so happy to see me considering we spoke just yesterday!" Ash yelled happily as he struggled to get her to stop. "You know I missed you too, but I don't need you to tackle me every time we see each other." He said jokingly.

-4 months ago-

"Hey Professor Sycamore! Can we make this quick? Serena's already a little mad at me for leaving her alone in my room and I'd rather not take too long or she'll be really mad." Ash complained.

"You two were alone in your room, huh?" Sycamore said raising his eyebrow.

"Yeah." Ash said hesitantly. He really didn't like the tone in Professor Sycamore's voice.

"You seem in an awful hurry to get back to her, you must have been doing something _really_ interesting." He said giving him a weird smirk.

"Oh, shut up." Ash retorted. "You know we're not like that! Especially in front of Pikachu!"

"Relax, son. I'm joking." He said putting his hands up in defense. "She's not really mad at you, is she?" He asked.

"I don't think so. She's probably just frustrated that I insisted that I come here alone. She's been extra cautious, and clingy to an extent, around me since the whole thing with my old family and friends. It's sweet and all, and I know she means well, but It's starting to wear on me a little." He vented.

"I suppose that makes sense." He replied. "Maybe what you two need is a road trip. You know Professor Pine from Johto, right?"

"Yeah we've met once or twice." Ash responded thinking back to his journey through Johto with Brock and- He shook himself out of thought before he went to deep into that memory. "What of it?"

"He says that a Lapras arrived at his lab yesterday. According to their pokemon translator, the Lapras says it knows you and is begging to see you. You wouldn't happen to know one, would you?" He asked.

"Yeah, but I released her a long time ago." Ash replied.

"Then I suggest you grab Serena and Pikachu and take Charizard or Noivern to Professor Pine's to meet this Lapras. He says no one can get the poor thing to move an inch. Sounds like she doesn't trust them." He subconsciously put his right hand to his chin. "If it's true that this Lapras once belonged to you, my suggestion would be for you to take care of it. It likely won't listen to anyone else." He finished.

"Alright, I get the picture. But I'm telling you, my old Lapras is back with her family." He said walking out the sliding doors to the lab.

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"So, you still haven't told me where we're going or why. Is it really that big of a secret?" Serena asked from atop Ash's Charizard soaring through Johto. Normally she'd be afraid of flying at the height they were at but now she had an excuse to hold Ash tightly so she wasn't thinking about it that much.

"Not a secret." Ash replied. "You never asked. If you wanted to know I'd figured you'd ask." He said turning his head back toward her. "We're going to Professor Pine's lab in Johto. Apparently an old friend of mine is waiting for me there and she won't listen to anyone. If it is her, it's extremely uncharacteristic her and something big must have happened."

"Why do you need me?" Serena asked raising an eyebrow. "And who is _she_?" She asked this time in a subtle worried tone.

Ash had picked up on that worried tone, though. The old Ash may not have, but since that day at the corral, Ash made it his mission to learn to read people better so nothing like that would ever happen again. "Don't worry it's not like that. _She_ is an old pokemon of mine, though I still doubt it's her."

'Good,' Serena thought. 'I already have enough competition with Anabel.' The two may have been friends but they knew what the other felt about Ash and knew what it would eventually come down to.

"As for why I brought you along just answer this." Ash continued. "If I hadn't invited you, and told you to stay at Sycamore's and wait, would you have gone to my pokemon and ordered one of them to help you trail me, not giving up until they said yes?" Ash asked.

"Probably. Arceus, I've only known you to be this observant in battles. Or am I just that easy to read?"

"You're pretty easy to read, but I've also been making it a habit to try harder to observe everything so I know who to trust and who not to."

"And what about your old pokemon. Is she going to be like the ones who turned their backs on you?"

"I don't know anymore." Ash replied sadly. "I'd like to hope not."

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Ash stepped in front of the sliding door causing it to open quickly and the two proceeded to walk in.

"Professor Pine!" Ash called.

Answering his call, a tall slender man in a lab coat walked into the room with a young assistant by his side.

"Ah, Ash!" The man exclaimed walking over to him. "So glad you could make it!" His gaze followed to the rodent taking his place on Ash's shoulder. "Pikachu! Good to see you too! I see the cybernetics are working out."

"Pikachu." He purred back. He then shifted his attention to the third member of their group. This time however, he didn't recognize the one in front of him.

"Who's your friend? I don't believe I've had the pleasure."

"This is my friend, Serena. She came here with Pikachu and me all the way from Kalos to help fix this problem you presumably have."

"Well, the help is much appreciated." He said sticking his hand out. "Pleasure to meet you, Serena."

"Likewise." She replied grabbing his hand and shaking it.

"Now that introductions are through, I'd like to get down to business. I'm a busy man, I have a lot of work to do and not much time." He explained. "24 hours ago, a stray Lapras washed up on the shore not too far from here. The Lapras's shell had been damaged. It's missing a few spikes, and so, she was sent here to be studied and find out the cause."

"And what was the cause? I've never heard of a Lapras's shell just falling apart." Serena asked.

"Apparently a Lapras's shell is made, in part, of ivory. After doing some research I found that Lapras hunting is becoming quite popular among poachers, presumably for the shells." He elaborated

"That's horrible!" Ash yelled with Pikachu silently nodding in agreement from his shoulder. If this was his old Lapras, he was going to find who hurt her and give them heavy doses of his and Greninja's water shuriken's.

"I'd say that this Lapras is lucky however. Normally the ivory hunters just kill the Lapras and remove the shells from there. In this case, however, it seems from the parts of the shell that are missing and the angles the saw blades cut at, that this was done as painlessly as possible. Odd, isn't it?"

"Is there any way to find out who is doing this to these Lapras?" Serena asked.

"Unfortunately, no. Every case of Lapras hunting so far has left behind seemingly no evidence whatsoever. Unless we can get a confession, I'm afraid we won't know for some time." He answered.

Ash had had enough. He felt sick that someone would do this to a poor Lapras, especially since their such gentle creatures by nature. He needed to make sure this was not his friend. If this was the Lapras he traveled with, then he was taking her home with him. "Professor I'd like to see Lapras now."

"Of course, but I must warn you, she cowers from everyone. Nobody but our translator can get close to her; she fires water guns at everyone else. She's refusing to eat either. Which leads me to believe she still thinks she's in some sort of danger." Pine said leading them towards the observation room.

"Thanks, but I think I can handle myself." Ash replied.

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Ash opened the door to see an older woman and a Lapras at the opposite end of the large room. The Woman was too busy tending to the poor pokemon to even notice that she now had company.

"Uh, excuse me?" Ash said as Serena followed his tracks through the doors and into the room. She quickly eyed the large transport pokemon. Lapras were very rare pokemon in Kalos. The only other Lapras she'd ever seen in her 15 years in Kalos was the one Bonnie had found.

"I was told you were caring for an old friend of mine." Ash said approaching the woman.

"Ah which makes you Ash, Correct?" The woman turned to the young trainer. Ash stood astonished. There in front of his stood a researcher that could give professor Ivy a run for her money in the looks department. Long blonde hair, a baby blue lab coat with a black shirt underneath. Not to mention the hourglass figure. For the first time in forever he was glad Brock wasn't here with him. He wasn't sure if his friend would be able to contain himself.

Serena noticed he was staring and gave a 'hmph'. She cleared her throat just load enough to get Ash's very divided attention for one second. "Ash, don't tell me you've forgotten why we came all this way?" She queried officially snapping him back to reality.

"Right the Lapras." Ash said shaking his head. "I think you've made a mistake miss. The Lapras I knew is with her family."

"Well she seems to be very adamant that you and she have a history." She said hitching a thumb at the Lapras in question who gave out a cry of happiness.

"I'll be the judge of that." Ash said defiantly. The young man walked up to the tower transport pokemon. There was no doubt it was in the same age group as his old friend, but there was only one way for him to be sure. He looked the pokemon square in the eyes. The two stood there for what seemed like an eternity.

After minutes of silence Serena decided to speak up. "Ash are you-"

"Lapras!" "Pika!" He shouted happily cutting her off mid-sentence and throwing his arms around the pokemon's long neck. In response he received a happy cry and a short session of nuzzling causing him to laugh the entire time. "It's so good to see you again! You keep getting bigger every time I see you."

The pokemon turned her attention from Ash to Pikachu and nearly fainted at what she saw. She had been so caught up with her old trainer that she had missed Pikachu's new appearance. She turned back to Ash and eyed him questioningly.

"I'll explain later, I promise. Right now, what matters is catching up with you! I want to introduce you to my friend Serena." He said stepping out of the way and revealing the girl that had been standing in silence up until now.

"It's nice to meet you Lapras, any friend of Ash's is a friend of mine." She greeted waving at it.

The happiness didn't last long, however. While she was introducing herself he subconsciously ran his hand across her damaged shell for the first time and the situation came creeping back into Ash's mind. "What happened? Where's the rest of your family? Don't tell me the ivory hunters got to them." He said worriedly.

Tears started rolling down the wounded pokemon's face. She hung her head down low and turned her gaze away from the Kalosian.

"I'm so sorry, Lapras. I know how much they meant to you." He said somberly rubbing his hand across her head comfortingly. "I'm here now, and I have a surprise." He said taking his hand off her head and reaching into his pockets. "Admittedly, I was skeptical about you being who they said you were, but just in case, I brought some friends who'd like to say 'Hi'." He pulled two pokeballs out of his pockets and threw them into the air. "Come on out Bayleef and Quilava!" He called.

When the lights created by the pokeballs faded, two new pokemon stood in the large room. The aforementioned pokemon were standing right in front of Ash with their backs to Lapras. Ash took a knee down to the two smaller pokemon.

"I know I didn't tell you guys why we left the lab, and that's 'cause I didn't want to get your hopes up. But as fate would have it, Pine was correct and there's an old friend who needs some good company right now." He explained point his finger in Lapras' direction.

The two turned around to face the pokemon they once traveled with. It took a second for them to register just who they were looking at, but as they both had a simultaneous revelation the two ran over to greet their old friend.

Ash smiled at the sweet scene before pivoting in the researcher's direction and approaching her. "I thank you for calling me here today." He said bowing to her. "But how did you know what she was saying?"

"Simple." She answered pulling a pokeball from seemingly nowhere and opening it revealing a Kadabra. "Me and Kadabra have spent years training and developing a link between each other. This link allows me to understand him completely as if I spoke his language."

"Can you teach me to do that with my Braxien? That would really help in my performances!" Serena begged jumping excitedly.

"Not just anyone can do it. Much like Aura some people can learn to utilize the ability but the majority will never be able to access the necessary qualities."

"Well anyway, it's time for me and Lapras to leave. I need to get back to Kalos." Ash said pulling out an unused pokeball. "She can stay with me until you catch those poachers."

"I'm afraid she'll have to stay here. She knows more about the hunters than anybody. We need her in order to catch these guys." The researcher argued.

"It wasn't a request." Ash retorted calmly. "She just lost her whole herd in a matter of minutes. I'll bet my hat she's in no mood to talk about it. We'll come back when Lapras is ready."

"So, what? You're just going to take her with you? She's are greatest tool to finding these criminals! She needs to be questioned."

"Lapras isn't a tool, she's a living being!" Ash shouted. "I don't know you, therefore I don't trust you to protect my friend!"

"Pine said you trust everybody! He said you'd be fine with leaving Lapras here!" She yelled back.

"Pine hasn't seen me in years. Things change. Whether you like it or not, she's coming with me."

"That's enough, both of you!" The two turned to see Professor Pine standing in the doorway. "Ash, I cannot have you starting fights with my employees." He ordered. "And Julie you know better as well. I believe you're both forgetting that at this time Lapras is a _wild_ pokemon, and has no legal guardian. Without a guardian the choice is hers."

* * *

"So, I'm guessing the fight is happening on the other side huh?" Ash took their silence as a yes. "Alright, there's not enough room on Lapras for all of us, so Sceptile, Pikachu, and I will ride Lapras and Buizel will follow behind on his own."

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As soon as Ash got himself and Pikachu off Lapras with Sceptile following after, the transport pokemon shot off in the opposite direction.

'Huh, wonder where she's off to.' He thought to himself.

"So, where's the fire, guys?" Ash asked no one in particular as he stepped forward scanning the area for any signs of a struggle. However, he quickly began to realize nothing was wrong. If a fight had happened the least that would have happened was some of the grass would have gotten dug up, but the fields were as cleanly leveled as ever.

"Alright guys, what's going on?" Ash asked turning back to face Pikachu, Sceptile, and Buizel. He was shocked at the sight of Charizard, Staraptor, Noivern, and Lapras carrying all of his other pokemon across the small lake they had crossed. Ash figured they had been following him this whole time. "Pikachu, buddy, what's going on?"

Suddenly more and more pokemon came out from the cover of the trees surrounding him. Ash began to shake in place as if a low scale seizure state having flashbacks to the day something similar had happened. The world around him went black. He began drifting into the thoughts of his pokemon, friends, and, family surrounding and attacking him.

"Ash!" someone screamed from what seemed to be an outside world. "Ash! Are you okay?!" He suddenly felt someone shaking him, and he drifted back out of his trance to see Anabel standing in front of him assuming she was the one who was shaking him. Admittedly it wasn't a bad sight to see after a flurry of nightmares.

"What are you doing here Anabel? I thought Scott couldn't give you any more time off." He asked.

"He decided to allow me one more day off to celebrate!" She said as she smiled at him.

"Celebrate?" He quizzed. Then he realized she wasn't the only one. He had been so focused on her, he failed to realize that his Kalos friends, Sycamore and his staff, and his friends from out of Kalos were all there. He looked up to see two Fletchinder's holding up a banner reading 'Happy Anniversary!' "What's that?" He asked pointing to the banned.

"Ash, today is the one-year anniversary of you moving in to my humble abode!" Sycamore said walking over to him. "I told everyone to hide and made up a false pretense to get you to this spot. I can't tell you how much of a help you've been keeping everyone in good spirits. So, I called up Brock, Anabel, and your friends here in Kalos and told them to come around to surprise you. I will say it was hard to organize but I'm rather proud of-"

"But when we got here you were in a trance like state and shaking vigorously. Is something wrong?" Serena interrupted.

"You should know I'm not a fan of surprises." He said bitterly.

"Well, we couldn't tell you." Paul retorted.

Ash looked at the Sinnoh native and noticed he wasn't alone, he had Dawn with him as well.

"Paul! Dawn! I thought you two were in Unova!"

"We were, but Paul manage to conquer the Pokemon League and challenge the elite four in time for your party!" Dawn beamed.

"Thank you, everyone. It's nice to be loved like this." He stated picking Pikachu up and placing him on his shoulder. "So, how about we get this party under way."

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Ash was currently standing in a more remote part of the corral that Sycamore had given to Ash to do with what he pleased. The minute he offered it to him Ash knew what he was going to use it for. Turns out, Oak was the only person who Gary had down as any sort of legal guardians. No aunts, uncles, older cousins, siblings, nothing. This made it easy to convince the people in charge of his burial to let him take the researcher's body to Kalos.

He stood in front of a gravestone surrounded completely by thousands of planted flowers of many different colors, and several bouquets placed there by those who knew him best. He and some of his pokemon tended to these flowers daily with Bayleef making sure they were healthy and getting enough sunlight and Buizel watering them. The gravestone in front of him read

 _Gary Blue Oak_

 _A Great Researcher_

 _A Great Rival_

 _An Even Greater Friend_

The party his friends had managed to throw for him was the most fun he had had since leaving Kanto. Everyone was so welcoming when he first got to Sycamore's, and it's nice to see everyone still welcomed him so much. Each one had comforted him in one way or another and he appreciated it more than they ever knew. Of course, they didn't heal him completely, he reckoned it'd take years until he was able to trust again, but they were the reason he was able to get through every day. Yet there was one thing he couldn't get over, the death of his friend.

"I'm sorry, buddy. I should have done more. I should have-"

"We knew we'd find you here." A voice said from behind him.

Ash turned to see Brock, Dawn, and Paul walking towards him.

"Where's everyone else?" Ash queried.

"Anabel got a challenger back at the Battle Tower, Clembot broke down again so Clemont and Bonnie went back to take care of that mess, and Serena fell asleep and we didn't want to wake her." Dawn explained as the three joined the young trainer.

"Y'know it's been one year since he died and I still can't get over it." Ash said somberly.

"That's completely normal Ash," Brock said putting a hand on his shoulder. "Nobody gets over the death of a loved one so fast. None of us are over it either."

"That's not it. I'll never really get over his death, but what I meant was I still feel responsible for what happened." Ash said pulling his shoulder out of Brock's hand not looking back at them.

"What the hell are you talking about now?" Paul asked.

"Maybe if I had done more for him, he'd still be with us. I shouldn't have left him there with Oak. I knew what Oak was capable of and I left him. I failed."

"It wasn't your fault Ash." Brock said trying to comfort him.

"Wasn't it? I got everyone else out. I could've gone back. I could have saved him." Ash said.

"And what of Pikachu, huh? Were you just going to put off taking Pikachu to the hospital, you heard the doctor, any longer and he wouldn't have made it out alive."

"I could've had Paul take him while I went for Gary." Ash said letting the tears roll down his face. "He saved me, but I couldn't return the favor. If only I were stronger." He finished.

"If you go through life thinking of the 'only if' and 'could have' you'll end up a shell of a person. Gary wouldn't have wanted you to live like this. Let me know when you're done with your pity party." Paul said walking away from the conversation.

"Sorry Ash," Dawn said. "You know he cares, he just doesn't like seeing you beat yourself up over this. Especially when it isn't your fault."

"Dawn's right Ash. You did what you could in a situation no one, especially you, deserves to go through. Oak did this, not you. I'm not leaving this spot until I hear you say 'It's not my fault'" Brock said taking a stand.

"But-" Ash started before being cut off.

"No buts, or we'll be here all night." Dawn ordered.

"Guys please don't do this." Ash pleaded, even going as far as to clasp his hands together.

"We could go get Serena if you'd rather have to deal with her." Brock suggested.

Ash sighed in defeat. "It's not my fault." He said in an ingenuine voice. Suffice to say Dawn and Brock were not pleased.

"Like you mean it. One more try before we call in the cavalry." Dawn ordered once again.

"It- It's not my fault." He repeated back to them in a more confident voice.

"Good now I'll go get Paul, and he can apologize for snapping at you and we can all get on with the rest our day."

"You're going to get Paul to apologize? He's only given one apology in his whole life!" Ash yelled "How the hell are you going to do that?"

Dawn just smiled back at him. "I have my ways, no need to worry." She turned back towards the exit and began her trek back to the lab.

"Is it me, or is there something going on between them?" Ash asked raising an eyebrow and pointing in Dawn's direction.

"There better not be," Brock replied. "I still don't have a girlfriend." He said as he began to anime cry. Ash chose to ignore it and the two ran after Dawn.

* * *

I want to make a few things clear.

1\. Don't ask me to update! I'm glad some of you like it that much and I appreciate you passion, but this is a hobby, not a chore.

2\. This will have no tournament, and Ash will use aura only once and near the end of the story. Those are two tropes I feel are way overused so if you're here for that, look somewhere else.

3\. This will have some character deaths later on so just be warned.

4\. Did I mention not to ask me to update?


	5. Abel Arrives, Grunts Follow

Hey! Did ya miss me? Of course you didn't! So I planned to get this out earlier but I ran into a wall, then I got kidney stones and was in and out of the ER for a couple days, and then Christmas and the new Star Wars, but enough excuses. I'm better, I got my drive back, and I've seen the movie three times!

* * *

~Somewhere underground Kalos~

"Sir. You sent for me?" A man said saluting his master. He stood in a mostly pitch-black room. The only sources of light were a dimly lit computer monitor and the lights from the hallway outside the room.

"Yes, I did. Did Agent 2's report come in yet?" A man asked turning around his swivel chair. There in the very back of the room sat a single man. All features of the man's body and face were shrouded in a blanket of shadows.

"Uh… yeah. From what I gathered from the report, Ketchum is not the same as he was a year ago." He reported "Agent 2 reported that he was completely rude and untrusting to him. He is currently monitoring the boy at Sycamore's and will inform us if anything new comes up."

"Good. It seems putting agents undercover in every professor's lab in the 6 main regions was a good idea after all."

"However, Agent 2 reported also that he is not as far along in the process as you had hoped he would be by now," 'Whatever that means.' he silently added. "and he says that his friends are the direct cause of this, especially the girl. If I may ask, why have we not taken care of them already?"

"We're in no position to be harming anyone, Jim."

"Kane. My name is Kane." He clarified

"Not important." He shrugged off almost instantly. "Anyway, it's a shame they didn't give in to Oak's offers, but we can't just go around eliminating whomever we want. Yet." He said in thought. "The blonde and his sister are important members of Kalos society and his little girlfriend rarely leaves his side these days. At the moment our top grunt couldn't handle his Infernape or Charizard. And even I would fall against his Greninja. That's why he must become one of us."

"What?" Kane asked raising an eyebrow.

"Did you think I did all of this for the fun of it? Targeting a kid? Turning his close friends against him? Making him untrusting and angry? It's all been for him and his pokemon!" The man said standing up.

"Could you clarify? You lost me."

"Tell me. What is the best way to defeat an enemy?"

"Yveltal?"

"You make them your ally." He responded coolly. "There won't be a pokemon like Greninja or a trainer like Ash again in our lifetimes. If we want to achieve our goals we need the boy." He said as he paced back and forth. "If you were to go anywhere near his friends he'll never join us. He'll destroy us."

"So how do we get him to join us?" Kane asked raising an eyebrow.

"We need to make him think he needs us. That he has no other choice. And so I turned his friends and family against him in hopes he would give up, giving us our chance. While it didn't work exactly the way I wanted, thanks to those kids, it forced him to grow stronger faster than his previous rate of progression molding him into an even stronger trainer than I had hoped." Soon he will be one of us. He just needs incentive."

"I guess it does make sense." Kane said "He is the boy who took down Team Galactic, Team Plasma, and various branches of Team Rocket."

The man just laughed. "Those rookies?!" he chuckled. "Believe me, if Ketchum were to reach his true potential, they could all take him on at once and still lose without him breaking a sweat."

"He didn't seem that tough to me. He's just a kid! What are you leaving out?"

"Patience. First things first," The man smirked. "how's of our little project coming along?"

Kane sighed. "Sir were at 80% completion but we can't go any further without making our presence known. If our power and radiation levels go any higher, someone's bound to notice and come investigating."

"Do any of our staff have any pokemon that know Trick Room?"

"I'm not sure. That's not my area. Why?"

"In theory using the move Trick room could cut off all radiation and power signatures allowing us to move forward." He said with determination. He turned his swivel chair back towards his monitor and began typing. "It says here one of my undercover workers at Birch's lab owns a Gothitelle who knows Trick Room." He peered back at his employee over his shoulder. "I want her called back here and in the lab immediately. I don't care what she's doing at the moment, I need that Gothitelle, be sure to make the call. Once our project is completed we can enter Phase 2 and begin our conquest of Kalos." He turned his attention to his computer screen.

"SIR!" A new voice screamed from behind him.

The man let out a long sigh and looked back over his shoulder to see a new face pushing Kane to the side grabbing his full attention. "I didn't call for you. You should know better than to show up unannounced and uninvited." He said dangerously

"A thousand pardons sir! But your second in command ordered me to come straight here! I have news on the boy with the Minun!"

"Alright." He said smiling wickedly. "You have my attention. Just stop yelling." He ordered calmly. "You have his location?"

"Yes sir. He's leaving the North Kalos Airport as we speak. He's scheduled to arrive at Sycamore's lab later today."

"Good. Have our agents at Sycamore's keep an eye on him while I get a few grunts over there."

"What's special about this kid, sir?" Kane quizzed.

"Beyond his amazing ability to laugh his way through all of his problems? Absolutely nothing." He sneered. Weirdly enough, the sneer quickly turned into a grin. "But tell me, what would you say if I could give you anything and everything you ever wanted at the snap of my fingers?" He asked snapping his fingers in front of him.

"I'd say that's too tall an order for one man, even you sir." Kane responded

"Maybe for me, but not for Jirachi." He responded

"Jirachi's just a legend made up by that ex-Magma circus jockey." Kane said

The man just shook his head "So pessimistic," he said "never underestimate the wonders of the world of pokemon. This kid carries around a Jirachi with him at all times."

"Are you sure?"

The man just nodded. "Infinite wishes has a nice ring to it doesn't it?"

XXXXXXXXXX

~Sycamore's lab~

"Professor?!" A boy called opening the front door to the lab. Anyone who had ever been to Hoenn could immediately tell who his ace was. He was obviously partnered with a Minun seeing as he had its likeness all over his shirt and on the legs of his pants. He had shoulder length brown hair topped off with a lightning bolt hat. And, of course, on his shoulder sat the Cheering Pokemon itself, Minun. "Are you here?!" He called again, looking around the room. "It's Abel! Pine did say Sycamore didn't have anything scheduled today, didn't he?" The boy asked turning his head towards his partner who just nodded in response. "Then we must be at the wrong place." He guessed. "I knew it was a bad idea to let you read the map!" He scolded himself.

"Minun!" The pokemon retorted defensively. "Mi-NUN!" It shrieked letting out a high electric shock onto his trainer causing him to fall over.

"Jeez, buddy," He said coughing and rubbing soot of his shirt. He rose slowly to ensure his wouldn't lose balance again. "I was just kidding buddy." He complained.

Just seconds after he saw the professor in question rush into the room. "Ah! Abel! I thought I heard a commotion." He exclaimed walking up to the young boy. "Pine has told me all about you!"

"Ditto, Professor. Although, you could have at least had someone here to welcome me in. I thought I had the wrong place." Abel laughed to himself.

"Ah, yes. So sorry about that. I was aiding Ash, Pikachu, and Serena, with some of my infinite pokemon knowledge." He said tapping a finger to the side of his head a couple times.

"Who?" He asked tilting his head. "Are they your employees?"

"No, no, Ash and his pikachu live here, and Serena comes over almost every day to make sure he's alright. Ash, Serena, come here quick!" He called turning his head.

The two teens entered through the same room Sycamore came from, both in their trademark outfits. Pikachu sitting on his trainer's right shoulder.

"Ash, Pikachu, Serena, this is Abel and Minun. He came from Johto to challenge the Kalos League. But I've asked him to stick around here for a couple weeks to help with research before he leaves."

"Nice to meetcha." He said happily. Abel smiled and stuck his hand out to Serena.

"It's great to meet you too." She said taking his hand and shaking it. Abel moved from Serena over to Ash sticking his hand out hoping to repeat the process. Just before their hands shook he glanced at the pikachu sitting on his shoulder.

"What happened to your friend?" He asked pointing at the aforementioned mouse.

Ash quickly pulled his hand back towards himself breaking the handshake halfway through. "I'm going to see my pokemon, Dawn and Paul now. Bulbasaur said he's going to need help at the corral today. Thanks for the help Professor, if you need me just call." He finished turning away and proceeding out of the room.

XXXXXXXXXX

~Hallway leading to the corral~

"So, what if he thinks I'm a jerk? I don't care what he thinks. He and I aren't friends, nor do we need to be." Ash told his companion. "You know it's gotten exceedingly hard for me to socialize."

"Pika Pika!" The mouse said to its trainer form atop his shoulder.

"Maybe I did overreact a little...but it's still a raw subject alright. " He countered

"Pika. Pikachu."

"Look, I know he didn't mean it, it's just...I'm perfectly fine with the group of friends I have. I don't see the need to make any more. When he pointed out your cybernetics it just reminded me of what might happen if I let him get close."

"Pika..." He responded sadly.

"Maybe you're right, buddy." He said solemnly. "Maybe I do need to regain some of my old self. Thanks for the talk buddy." He said reaching up and scratching behind the rodents ear.

~Back with Sycamore~

"Was it something I said?" He asked no one in particular. "I do have a knack for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time." He thought out loud.

"Don't let it get to you." Serena said walking towards him. "Ash is complicated. He would have reacted to anyone that way. Give him time and he'll open up to you."

"Indeed. He's very untrusting these days but I'm sure you two could get along, in fact you remind me of him from days past. Just give it time." Sycamore added

"Really?" Abel asked. "I don't see the similarities." He stated.

"Yes well, he's had it rough as of recent." Sycamore replied.

"What do you mean?" Abel asked.

"The short version is, a year ago, some of his friends and family attacked him and his loyal pokemon, and one of them shot and critically injured his best friend Pikachu. He and his pokemon left his hometown of Pallet and moved in with me here at the lab." Sycamore explained.

"He's actually a very warm and caring person, he just doesn't trust outsiders." Serena chimed in.

"I don't know exactly how to feel about you calling me an outsider." Abel said to Serena.

"Sorry," She said. "That's just what he calls people he doesn't care to associate with."

"Before a year ago, you and him would've been so alike people might not have been able to tell you apart from each other." Sycamore finished

"That's too bad. But I could still do without the attitude, it's not like he has the weight of the world on his shoulders."

'If only you knew how many times he's indirectly saved your life' Sycamore thought "Anyway, how about a change of subject," Sycamore said smiling at the boy. "Now then, can I see it?" Sycamore asked.

"Oh, right. I forgot you wanted to see him." Abel responded.

"See who?" Serena asked.

"My pokemon." Abel responded simply. "Come on out Jirachi!" He exclaimed throwing a pokeball into the air.

When the light faded, a small pokemon floated before them. Its body and head were white and it had yellow ribbon like structures on its back and a yellow star formation atop its head with blue tassels on the top, left, and right.

"Professor, Serena, this is my friend Jirachi, the Wish Pokemon!"

"Oh, it's adorable." Serena gushed. "Hello cutie, I'm Serena."

'Hello, Serena. My name is Jirachi.' It responded.

"Amazing, it talks!" Sycamore said leaning forward towards the wishmaker. "So, this is the legendary Jirachi, huh? And it can really grant anyone a wish?" He asked

"Yes and no. He can give you what you want, but he can't create things so whatever you wish for he's forced to steal. That's why we've agreed not to wish for anything right Minun?"

The little pikachu clone nodded his head in response.

"I have to get Ash and the others! He'd love to meet another legendary pokemon!"

'Ash?' Jirachi asked. 'I wonder...' And with that Jirachi took off after Serena.

"Jirachi!" Abel shouted. "Where are you going, pal?!"

~Sycamore's Corral~

Meanwhile Ash and Paul were getting some much-needed downtime and, of course, decided to spend it with a one on one.

"Alright Staraptor, hit him with your best Steel Wing!" Ash called. Extending his hand toward Paul and his Honchkrow.

The Sinnoh bird elevated itself further into the air and whipped its left wing into a wingspan formation and the feathers and flesh quickly mutated to pure steel. It kicked off through the wind and towards a very calm crow, its single metal wing spread out.

"Take the move! Stay exactly where you are!" Paul ordered.

Per his orders the Boss pokemon didn't move an inch from its original spot ready to receive whatever damage Staraptor was dealing.

'Something's not right here,' Ash thought to himself. 'What's he up to? Staraptor's got a lot of damage on him, best to pull out in case.' He thought. "Staraptor, fall back!" He yelled.

"Too late." Paul replied quietly. Staraptor's Steel Wing collided directly on Honchkrow's head. Paul smirked knowingly. "Use payback!" Honchkrow quickly was engulfed in a dark aura before channeling it into a single beam. "Finish him!" Honchkrow proceeded to shoot the unprepared Sinnoh bird point-blank causing the pokemon to fall to the ground out cold.

"Staraptor is unable to battle! Honchkrow is the winner! The battle goes to Paul!" Dawn decreed gesturing toward the boy with Piplup mimicing her moves.

"Staraptor!" Ash called running to his fainted pokemon.

"Don't worry Ash, I got this," Dawn called. "Togekiss come out!" She yelled holding the pokeball in her hand, outstretched in front of her. The pokeball open and after a flash of light, Dawn's Togekiss sat awaiting orders. "Use roost on Ash's Staraptor!" Togekiss surronded the fallen bird with glowing feathers endowed with healing abilities successfully reviving Staraptor.

"Looks like I win, Ketchum." Paul said smuggly watching Honchkrow join the other pokemon playing in the corral. "One would think the more you train the better you get, but you've gone a little soft, haven't you?" He said walking towards him

"You got lucky." Ash responded. "It won't happen again."

"I disagree. You made a rookie mistake I'd expect from Sinnoh Ash." Paul shot back "I can't believe you fell for that! I knew using a move that deals double the damage I would've take to you would be useful but I didn't think it'd work on you."

"Do you always have to gloat over your opponent when you win? It can't be what Dawn see's in you." He said back. Closing the gap between them to now a mere 20 feet.

"Maybe she likes it when I gloat, and at least I'm man enough to make a move, Ketchum. In any case that makes the score 30 wins to 23 wins, me." Paul taunted walking closer towards him.

"You've got it backwards! I've got 29 wins and you have 24," He retorted pointing a finger at him. "You may have this win but your memory's fading." He taunted back.

Dawn and Piplup stepped between the two boys. "Paul! Ash! If you two are done measuring your-"

"Ash!" Serena interrupted running up to the group of friends. "You're not going to believe this! That guy with the professor has a legendary pokemon with him!"

"What?" Dawn asked.

"I saw it! It's adorable! It can talk! It can grant-" Serena said rapidly

"Serena, slow down. I can't listen that fast." Ash said putting his arms out in a calming gesture.

"You're seeing things." Paul replied. "I've met my fair share of rare and legendary pokemon, and trust me, they don't fancy being captured by pokemon trainers. They much rather live out in peace. It's why they rarely show themselves." He informed her.

"But-" Serena started.

"Not only that," Ash interrupted. "But it would take an extraordinarily strong trainer to be able to weaken one enough to catch it, something I doubt that kid is capable of."

"But Ash," Serena said finally getting her words in. "I saw the Jirachi with my own eyes!"

'Jirachi?' Ash thought. 'Oh no.'

'ASH!' Another familiar voice yelled. The four turned to see the wish pokemon floating its way towards them. 'Friend Ash!' It screeched excitedly.

"Jirachi? How are you doing buddy? And more importantly, what are you doing here?"

'When my trainer found my crystal prison, Lady Arceus let me out of my crystalized state so I could enjoy life!' He explained looping through the air happily.

"It's adorable!" Dawn yelled. She quickly set down her penguin partner and ran up to the star shaped pokemon and wrapping her arms around it. "You are so, so, so, so, so cute!" She said rocking it back and forth in her arms quickly.

"Dawn." Ash said simply.

Dawn colored realizing what a bad impression she must be making. "Sorry, Jirachi." She said letting the small pokemon out of her grip.

"Jirachi, these are my good friends, Dawn and Paul." He introduced pointing at them respectively. "I met the both of them after my journey in Hoenn. I'll have to remember to video call Brock later so you can see him." He told himself.

'What about Max?' Jirachi asked excitedly.

"What about him?" Paul said rudely, earning a glare from Dawn.

'Is Max here, too? I missed him as well.'

"Of course, the little brat isn't here. Don't tell me you actually like the little-"

"Paul!" Ash scolded in a deadly tone. 'It would break his heart if he knew what Max did. On the other hand, he could side with him too. Then I'd be fighting a wishmaker.' He thought. 'It'd be best if he didn't know about anything from back then.' He concluded. "To be honest, I haven't spoken to Max in over a year. Just haven't had the time. But if Arceus wishes it, you two will meet again." He half-heartedly assured him.

"But-" Paul started. He didn't get another word out before Dawn slapped her hand over his mouth. She was able to see what Ash was doing and wasn't going to let Paul ruin it. Ash looked back at them and saw Dawn nod knowingly.

"Hey Dawn, I think the professor wanted to see you two. Would you mind?" He asked.

"Not at all, Ash." Dawn answered. "And not another word out of you." She ordered pointing an accusing finger at Paul. As the couple walked out of the corral they passed the kid from before coming in.

"Jirachi!" "Minun!" They simultaneously called. "What have I told you about running off?"

'But I wanted to see Ash!' It whined back. 'And hopefully Max'

"You know him Jirachi? How? I found you frozen in crystal."

"I spent around a week with the little guy before he went in to that state, presumably for a long, long, time. I didn't think he'd allow himself to get caught just like that." Ash explained, a suspicious look on his face.

"Well we spent a couple days together first, then when I had to go back to Johto he asked if he could come with to see the world. He was worried if he was left on his own people would capture and abuse his powers like he said had happened before."

"Makes sense after that whole ordeal with Butler." Ash thought out loud.

"Who?" Abel inquired.

"Not important." Ash said waving off his concerns.

"Excuse me." Said a voice hadn't heard before. He, Serena, Abel and their pokemon turned to see two men standing a couple hundred feet from them.

"Who are you?" Abel asked.

"Just a couple of average joe's visiting the many pokemon here in the corral. The second said.

"They don't work here, that's for sure." Serena elaborated.

"And something tells me they aren't friendly." Ash added.

"Oh, you're overreacting." Abel said calmly. "They're probably trainers here to see their pokemon. That is why corrals exists."

"Stay back." Ash commanded. "I know all Sycamore's sponsored trainers, and I've never seen these two." He said calmly.

"Our boss is in need of that Jirachi!" The first man ordered pointing a finger at them. "Sableye, let's go!"

"You can skip the battle and just give us the wishmaker if you'd like. Heracross, fight for your master!"

"MEGA EVOLVE!" They both yelled in unison. Both pokemon proceeded to surround themselves with enough thick energy to make them impossible to see as their DNA mutated into something greater behind the scenes. Two explosions revealed a once weak muscled bug with a rounded head to now have a buff build and the once round head formed into another horn. On the other hand, the Sableye's only change was that it now hid behind a precious ruby.

"Our boss has been watching you for too long for us to come back empty handed! All we want is Jirachi!" The first grunt told them.

"Huh, guess you were right, Ash. But how'd they get in here?"

"Don't know, don't care." He answered. "Buizel, Gliscor, to my side!" He ordered. Both the sea weasel pokemon and the fang scorpion pokemon rushed to Ash's side and to a battle stance.

"No way, they want Jirachi. That makes this my fight!" Abel said. "Minun, you sit this one out! Let's go Tropius!" He yelled throwing a pokeball straight up into the air. The light cleared to show what looked like a tree with the body of an animal.

"If you insist." Ash said calmly. "Buizel, me and Gliscor can handle it."

"Wait." The second grunt interrupted. "Isn't that kid the one the boss told us not to engage if we saw?" He asked pointing to Ash.

"Doesn't matter now!" He told him. "Besides as long as we win, he'll be happy. Now that that's done, Sableye use Shadow Sneak on that Tropius!" The first Grunt commanded. Sableye was quickly engulfed by shadow and then disappeared without a trace.

"Where'd he go?! Abel asked turning his head back and forth rapidly scanning for the pokemon. Suddenly he heard Tropius cry out in pain. He couldn't believe how fast that Sableye was.

"Shadow sneak allows a pokemon to disappear into the shadows and reappear in a person's shadow. I'd advise you to wacth more closely." Ash explained.

"Enough talk!" The second grunt hollered. "Heracross, use Megahorn on the Tropius!" The top horn began to glow and charged toward the scorpion.

"Use Stone Edge Gliscor! Knock that Heracross off its path!" He turned his attention toward Abel "Get ready, kid!" He yelled earning a nod from his teammate. "Now Gliscor!" He ordered. The ground began to shake around the Heracross.

"Tropius! Get ready for an attack! Use Dragon Dance!" Abel ordered.

"Oh no, you don't! Sableye use Icy Wind on him before that dance is complete!"

Abel looked over to see that the Heracross was on its back, presumably after being hit. "Too late, Tropius use Body Slam on Heracross while he's down!" Tropius switched attention from the Sableye to the Heracross and shot upwards into the air. Per its instructions it came down hard and fast from the air, smashing into the defenseless pokemon.

"Damn it! Heracross! Are you okay?" The grunt got his answer when his pokemon didn't get back up from the attack.

"Sableye use Dark Pulse!"

"Smash through it using X-Scissor!" Ash commanded. As the pulse approached him Gliscor tried to smash through. The pulse however was to strong and ended up directly hitting the scorpion instead.

"Gliscor! Ash called as the pokemon spiraled down into the ground. "Get up buddy! You're not done yet!" He encouraged.

"Sableye, hit him with another Dark Pulse while he's down!"

"Tropius, use Air Slash! Don't let that pulse hit Gliscor! Get in front of him and kick up some wind!"

The pokemon got in-between the attack and Gliscor and began to flap its wings rapidly.

"Good job kid!" Ash yelled noticing that Gliscor was finally getting back up. "Now use those winds to push back the attack and I'll finish this!" He ordered.

"You heard him Tropius! Use your wings!" The tropical pokemon happily obliged and started flapping its wings even harder than before. It wasn't working to the effect they had hoped, however. It managed to slow the speed of the pulse down but failed to push it back completely. "I don't think Tropius can do any more!" Abel called to Ash.

"It doesn't need to." Ash told him confidently. "Gliscor finish this with Fire Fang!" Ash commanded. Gliscor shot forward at an amazing speed toward its target as fire began to fill his mouth.

"Dodge it Sableye! Hide behind your gem!" The grunt yelled. Luckily for Sableye, the gem was more than big enough to block the attack.

"New plan Gliscor!" Ash called. "X-Scissor to knock the gem away from him!" The scorpion crossed his pinchers across his torso in an x formation and the began to glow green. As soon as enough power was built up, he uncrossed his arms swiftly firing all of the built-up energy.

"Sableye use Protect!"

"Now!" Ash told Abel who just nodded in response, despite his willingness to get to know Abel he had to admit they made a good team. It was like they could read each other's minds.

"Tropius, he's vulnerable from the side! Use Air slash while he's blocking Gliscor." Sableye was too preoccupied with Gliscor to notice Tropius in time. The air slash collided with the small darkness pokemon knocking him out cold.

"Damn it! Return Sableye!" The grunt brought his wrist up to his chest and turned a knob on his watch. "Boss! We failed, permission to teleport back?"

'Permission granted. Sending in Gardevoir now.' The disembodied voice responded. There was a small flash of pink and white lights for a moment before the aforementioned Gardevoir appeared. She left, however, as quickly as she came taking the grunts with her.

~Sycamore's office~

"That's interesting." Sycamore remarked. "Here for less than an hour and you've already been attacked in an attempt to take your pokemon." He stood in his office with Ash, Pikachu, Serena, Abel, and Minun.

"Not to mention they broke in so easily." Abel noted.

"That's actually not surprising. I've had more than my fair share of trespassers, thieves, and rival lab spies break in the premises. Luckily, I've had Garchomp and now for the past year, Ash as well. They have been more than enough to take care of any intruders." Sycamore explained. "In any case, you two managed to drive them away." He said smiling at the two. "I'm sure they'll think twice next time. We need to focus on more pressing matters. I've a room cleaned, and ready for you to move into. There's enough room for both you and your pokemon or they can hang out in the corral with the other pokemon."

"Thanks, professor, but I prefer it if my pokemon are with me at all times, especially now that those two came for Jirachi." Abel responded politely

"Wait a second, Abel's moving in too?" Ash asked.

Sycamore nodded in response. "As I said he's going to be helping me for a couple weeks before he sets off, so I figured that the least I could do was give him three meals and a roof."

"And it beats paying for those expensive hotels!" Abel chuckled to himself.

"So, are you just a Bed and Breakfast now, professor?" Serena asked jokingly.

"Maybe so!" Sycamore laughed. "Now the last thing to do is record your pokemon in the log, and you'll be good to go!" He said cheerily. "Follow me!" Sycamore proceeded out the door and Ash, Serena, and Abel followed.

"Professor Sycamore, what do you mean we have to record them?" Abel asked the professor.

"In here." He said opening a door to a small room. There wasn't much in the room, in fact over a third of it was taken up by a single machine. "The human brain can only maintain roughly 100 relationships at a single time. We have way too many pokemon here for one human brain to record at once, so I had my researchers build this!" He said gesturing to the giant machine. "When a new pokemon comes in I record its name, trainer, and give it a random serial number. Then in the mornings we do role call to make sure everyone's accounted for! If you'll kindly put your pokeballs in the bevels, the machine will register them in. Then, if you decide to station your pokemon elsewhere in the future, the computer will automatically delete the serial numbers of your pokemon from its systems."

"All right." He shrugged placing his pokeballs in the six available slot in the machine in front of him.

'Scanning...' The robotic voice spoke. 'Registered. Minun. Trainer, Abel Whichine. Number, 74268344.' The machine continued to beep and whir as it repeated the process with Abel's Tropius, Altaria, Typhosiion, Lopunny, and finally, Jirachi.

"Your pokemon are officially registered! If you would like a tour, I'm sure Ash and Serena would be happy to show you around." He offered.

"I'd rather go see if Paul's up for another round," Ash said cooly.

"Ash!" Serena scolded. "You can at least try to make connections, you know. You need to stop brooding around everyone you don't know, it's not healthy."

"Serena, I -"

"Pika! Pikachu!" His loyal friend scolded him. He knew there was little chance of him getting out of it with Serena on his case but Serena and Pikachu...

Ash sighed. "All right, I give. Abel grab your pokemon and follow me."

"Oh, one more thing. Ash." Sycamore said causing Ash to pivot his body back towards him. "You'll have a guest later on so be ready when I call you."

~Corral~

~1 hour later~

"And that about covers it!" Serena said cheerfully. "Well that is, besides the restricted area's we aren't allowed to enter."

'Ash, your guest is here!' Sycamore announced over the loudspeaker. 'We await you in my office.'

"Why doesn't he just tell you who it is?" Serena asked

Ash shrugged in response. "Maybe it's a surprise. Might as well go see who it is right buddy?" He asked turning his head to his companion.

"Pika!"

~Sycamores office~

Ash, Serena, and Abel walked up to the door at the end of the hallway marked 'Professor' and knocked.

"Ah, Ash! Come in, my boy!" Sycamore yelled from the outside. The three entered to see Sycamore sitting at his desk and a very familiar lilac-haired girl standing in front with her back turned.

"Anabel?" Ash asked. The girl turned around to show that it was indeed Anabel but with a few changes from what he was used to. She wasn't wearing her Salon Maiden outfit. In its place was a tight fitting black tuxedo and matching dress pants. Her hair was slightly longer as well.

"Hey Ash! Miss me?" She asked cheekily noticing the not exactly mad but definitely not happy look on Serena's face.

"Of course, but I thought Scott said you wouldn't be able to take off any more time? He already gave you an extra vacation day so you could come to my party, he needs you, doesn't he?" Ash quizzed.

"Oh, well, I quit." She answered casually.

"Wait, what?" Ash asked flabbergasted.

* * *

There you go! I got lazy at the end, but it's still just as long as my other chapters so whatever. As for shipping I don't write romance well but I recognize I gave way too much time too Serena and Ash as opposed to Anabel so I worked her back in and you can expect to see more of her. Any questions, just PM me, I'm normally pretty good at responding


	6. Old Friends Visit! One Good, One Not

~Underground Kalos~

~Around 2:00 A.M.~

"Sir." A familiar grunt greeted at the door.

"Ah, Jim." The man greeted, "How goes it? I'm guessing the grunts failed." He said turning his swivel chair towards him.

"Yes, sir. Both grunts reported that they were no match for Abel and Ash. They will be here momentarily. If you don't mind my asking, why not send someone stronger? If this kid truly has a Jirachi why not send our top grunts?" He asked.

"Fair questions. Unfortunately, most of my grunts are occupied at the moment. We're reaching the end of our goal and I've put all workers into overtime. The whole mission was banking on the chance that Ketchum wouldn't join the fight. We might have had a chance at the wishmaker if it was Abel alone." The man answered. He stood up and walked into the light revealing himself to Kane for the first time. He was a man of at least 80 in a blue tuxedo, matching pants, and black dress shoes. "As soon as Ketchum joined they had lost."

Kane didn't know what to think of his boss. He'd never seen him before and was surprised to see that the head of their organization is halfway to death's door. He knew that he had to be at quite a late stage in his life to be so wise and cunning but this...he didn't expect. "I see..." He hesitated. "So, what now?"

"I know the look on your face." He said staring straight into the younger man's eyes. "Seen it many times before, I have. Not what you were expecting, eh?" He asked knowingly.

"No, sir." Kane replied. He didn't know what else to say.

"It's alright. I know I'm not as young as I once was but that can be fixed." He said knowingly.

"Sir forgive my bluntness, but what the hell are you talking about?" He asked.

"All in due time, Jim. My agent and her Gothitelle have arrived, correct?"

"Yes sir. The two are already down with our engineers and scientists and have once again begun production on Operation Recruit."

"Excellent." He replied. "Let the scientists know that when they're done I'll need a level four containment field made as well. It'll take a couple days extra, but I'm a patient man. 10 years have I worked on this project and it's finally all coming together. Failure is not an option, in fact it's time to set an example of what happens when my employees fail me. Make sure to confiscate their pokemon before sending them in, can't have any resistance, now can we?"

"No, sir." Kane was never happier he wasn't a field agent. He didn't want to think of what the boss was planning for those grunts. He was sure that they'd live but past that he'd no idea.

"Sir, I know I'm just a messenger, but if you don't mind my asking, what is Operation Recruit?" Kane asked warily. The thing is, his 'employees' as he liked to call them had only a vague idea of what they were working towards. Most grunts were runaways or weak-minded people who would follow any false prophet. He wasn't either. His father worked for the boss for many years and at his time to go asked Kane to take over the position he held. Besides a few scientists all anybody knew is that they were working to reconstruct Kalos into a safer place, and most wouldn't question their leader's motives.

"Operation Recruit would be the final push that will make the chosen one join us, built with many contingency plans to accompany the operation." He elaborated. "That is all you need to know."

"Yes, sir." Kane replied. "One last thing, sir. The Frontier Brain arrived at Sycamore's lab yesterday to visit Ketchum. According to Agent 2, she plans on staying in Kalos." He reported

"That's very unexpected. She must have quit her job. There's no other explanation too why she could come to Kalos so often and still maintain her duties. However, this could work in our favor. I will ponder this for now, you are dismissed." He said walking back to his chair and slumping down into it.

~Ash's Room~

~Same Time~

Ash lay flat in his bed with his arms crossed behind his head, thinking of all that had transpired lately. First, he and his loyal pokemon were driven from his home region betrayed and angry. Then not only did his former sponsor cripple his best friend, but quite possibly could've caused his childhood rival's death.

He was aware of how much that had changed him. Even though he had friends stand by him and fight with him, the hurt of his former friend's actions and the pain of losing his close childhood friend weighed heavy on his heart. Sure, around people like Serena he was happy, but this new guy, Abel, he wasn't sure about. He had a really bad feeling about him. Trouble already followed Ash around like a lillipup, and it didn't help that he was attacked minutes after he met the guy. And to complicate things further, he had Max's old friend Jirachi with him. He wasn't entirely sure that if Jirachi had to choose between Abel and Max that he'd choose Abel. It seems like they have a strong bond, but so did Max and him. It felt wrong to withhold the truth from the wishmaker, but for Jirachi's sake and Abel's it's for the best.

At least it wasn't all bad. Anabel had come back to Kalos to stay this time. Apparently, some guy named Looker enlisted her help to investigate some weird readings or whatever. Ash didn't really understand a lot of what she said, but he did get the part where she'd be staying nearby and Looker gave her permission to see Ash a fair amount. Ash knew she said that she found being Frontier Brain boring lately but he couldn't imagine fighting strong trainers everyday boring. Either way, it'll be nice having Anabel around again especially since what he had just been told by Dawn and Paul.

~Ash's Room~

~8 hours ago~

Dawn and Paul stood in the doorway to Ash's room looking at the young man as he stood up from his bed to address the two.

"I thought you guys had something to do today? What are you doing here?" Ash asked as he closed the gap between them.

"We did have to do something today Ash. We had to make a decision." Dawn told him.

"That tells me literally nothing." Ash responded. "Care to elaborate?"

"We've stayed here as long as we could, Ketchum." Paul cut in. "I'm getting restless. I've spent a week here. I've spent a week in one place. I haven't done that since I left home on my tenth birthday, and it's not good for me. I need to move, I need to travel, and I need a goal." He finished.

"We're leaving in a couple hours to start our journey around Kalos." Dawn told him. "Paul plans on taking on the league and I'm going to participate in the Showcases!"

"You're leaving today?"

"I told you I'm restless." Paul repeated. "Besides it's not like you're alone. Both of your girlfriends are here." He taunted.

"How many times do I have to tell you they aren't my girlfriends." Ash responded

"I see the way you look at them, Ketchum." Paul shot back.

Dawn just shook her head at the two. "We're leaving most of our pokemon here, including Ambipom, on her request. I'm only taking Piplup, Buneary, and Togekiss and Paul's leaving everyone but Honchkrow and Torterra, so if you feel like having a spatting match you'll have plenty of choices." Dawn said before walking over and hugging him. "Don't worry about us, we'll be fine." She told him. "And Paul's right. You do long for them. But if you don't make a move, someone might just steal them away." She whispered before pulling away from the embrace.

Paul walked forward and stuck his hand out towards Ash. "We're always just a call away. Let Clemont know I'm coming for him." He said with determination on his face. Ash took his hand,

"I'll let him know, Paul, but don't expect an easy fight." Ash warned. "I'll miss you guys."

"We'll miss you too Ash. You have our contacts if you need anything." Dawn reminded him.

~Ash's Room~

~Present Time~

Ash closed his eyes and relaxed his arms to his side. He looked to the foot of his bed to see his faithful friend Pikachu fast asleep and sprawled out.

'Pikachu's got the right idea. I need to sleep.' Ash thought. He closed his eyes slowly and let himself be taken by the sweet embrace of slumber. What seemed like just seconds later he re-opened his eyes to an abnormality he'd never experienced before. His room was gone. It was replaced with nothing. Literally nothing. No walls, no light, and no pokemon. It's exactly what you'd see, or rather wouldn't see, if you closed your eyes. Nothing.

"Pikachu!?" Ash called looking around but once again was met with only black. "Serena!? Anabel!? Professor!?" He called out hopefully.

'Ash.' A voice replied.

Ash whipped around to see a single pokemon in front of him. This single pokemon was radiating light around him and the light continued to advance all around him. A familiar bipedal pokemon with black, yellow, and blue fur, spikes on his hands and chest, and a very anime fighter body. "A Lucario?"

'Not just any Lucario.' The pokemon replied through telepathy. 'Don't tell me you've forgotten.'

"Wait. You're Sir Aaron's Lucario!"

'Bingo' He replied.

Ash ran forward and wrapped the Aura Pokemon in a tight hug "But I thought you died! How are you here?" Ash asked frantically pulling out of the embrace. He was quickly reminded of his surroundings. "And where is here?"

'Think of it as a link between worlds.' His old friends replied. 'I did indeed pass away like my master before me, but what waited for me after made me happier than I could have ever imagined. It was the afterlife.' He explained. 'This space is a place only people who are aura sensitive can truly reach. Hence why we can talk to each other.'

"You mean you found Sir Aaron. I'm so happy for you, old friend. I'm glad to hear you found some peace. By the way, what's the afterlife like?" Ash asked.

'It's whatever you wish it to be. I can say no more. It's not why I'm here anyway'

"But why are you here? And why didn't you show yourself sooner? I missed you."

'Unfortunately, under most circumstances, showing ourselves before those who are still on this plane of existence would lead to disastrous effects, or, yes, I would've seen you sooner. But, you should know that we are able to watch you whenever we so please. It's too bad about your friends but those who turn on you in a time of need were never really your friends in the first place.' He replied. 'As for why I'm here, it's to let you know that you will soon find yourself holding the fate of Kalos in your hands once again. It's my job to tell you to double your training time and give you these.'

Ash held out his hand and Lucario dropped two stones and a necklace into his hand. Ash looked to find two small marbles both with a variety of colors on them. The necklace he gave him had a bevel in the middle on both the front and the back and was shaped like a small flame.

"What are they?" Ash asked.

'Sceptilite and Charizardite. The necklace was made to hold them during battle. I'm sure you already know how Mega Evolution works, so there's no need for too much explanations.' Lucario said.

"As great as all this is, I can't save Kalos without the help of Pikachu! And he's never going to battle again. Not after what happened." Ash said somberly looking down.

'Yes. What happened to young Pikachu was indeed very sad and, given the chance, I myself might like to take a shot at those Maple kids you brought with you to the Tree of Beginnings. Not to mention it was far too undeserving for such a pure soul. However, you should know that you can still save Kalos even with Pikachu in his current state. You must train like never before. Let your pokemon know what I have told you, but you can tell no one else.' He ordered

"If there's danger coming I have to warn Professor Sycamore and my friends!" He shot back. "I need them to be ready!"

'It is not their place to know what is about to transpire. If you let them know it would rupture destiny and put them at risk.' He retorted 'I know how much you care for them, that is why you can't tell them, only your pokemon. You must trust me and the Aura that this is the best way.'

"Will I get to see you again? You know before I-" He started. He really didn't want to think about the end of his life. There was still so much he wanted to do.

'If Arceus wishes it, then we will see each other again, Ash. Know that you are making the previous Aura Guardians proud.' He complimented

"Lucario, I don't want to be an Aura Guardian or the 'Savior of Kalos'." Ash told him. "Ever since Pikachu's injury, I don't know what I want."

'We know you never wanted to be an Aura Guardian, and over the past year or so, even we are beginning to accept that it might not be your destiny. It is your destiny to save Kalos, though. I know it's tough, but no one else can do it.' He replied knowingly. 'I cannot keep you any longer. You've already slept in quite a while.'

"What?! We've been talking for a couple minutes!" Ash replied.

'Time flows differently here.' Lucario replied simply. 'Before I return to my master there is one last thing I was told to tell you.'

"Yes?"

"Gary says 'Hi.' and is willing to wait a couple decades before seeing you again.' Lucario said smiling at the young boy as tears filled his eyes.

'ASH!'

Ash did a double take at the voice of a familiar lilac haired girl's disembodied voice. She must be watching over him right now.

'You are already beginning to return to the material world. Your friends are waiting. Goodbye, Ash Ketchum.' He finished as he slowly faded away.

"Lucario, wait!" Ash yelled. He had so many questions. Most of them revolving around his deceased friend. "Tell Gary I miss him!" He called quickly.

'I will, Ash." The disembodied voice of Lucario responded. The light that had been slowly engulfing the room finally reached Ash and washed over him sending him back to the land of the living.

His eyes jolted open once again and Ash quickly realized he was back in his room. At his side at the end of his bed was his best friend Pikachu who perked up at the sight of him moving.

"Pika!" The mouse pokemon said getting up and running up to the head of the bed with the sound of clanking metal ringing as he ran. Once he reached Ash he nuzzled up against his face cooing happily.

"Pikachu!" Ash said happily. He failed to realize, however, the lilac haired girl in the room with him.

"Ash! You're awake!" She yelled running over and engulfing him in a hug.

"Uh..." Ash stuttered. "Nice to see you too? You act like I've been in a coma."

"Ash, you were! It's 3 and you're just now waking up. Serena, the professor and I tried to get you up but you wouldn't. Then around an hour ago you started crying in your sleep!"

'An hour?' Ash mused before Lucario's words rung in his head.

'Time flows differently here.'

"Are you all right, what happened?" Anabel asked, still panicked.

"Nothing." He lied, "I must have just been in extremely heavy sleep. I was having a weird dream." He hated lying to her and if it weren't his old friend that told him not to, then he'd tell her everything.

"I can tell you're lying, you know?" She asked him shaking her head.

"How?" 'Shit' He scolded himself 'I just confirmed it! Oh, well, no going back now.' He thought to himself "Is it because you're an empath?"

"Partially." She replied smiling at him. "I am picking up some deception from you, but mostly I just know you. What are you hiding from me?"

Ash sighed. "I wish I could tell you, but I was strictly told not to." Ash replied

"Told by who? You've been asleep all day." Anabel asked.

'Shit! I should've told Lucario I'm no good with secrets!' He scolded himself. "Please just drop it. Maybe I'll tell you later."

"If you say so." She replied shrugging. "But you know what they say about secrets-"

"I know." Ash said cutting her off. "But, apparently, it's for the best. So, did I miss anything while I was under?"

"Uh...actually, you have visitors." Anabel said hesitantly.

"Clemont and Bonnie? I haven't seen them in over a week!" He said excitedly.

"No, though they did send their regards. Dedenne's sick so they had to stay back to take care of the poor thing."

"Oh." Ash replied sadly. "Did Brock come with that pokemon he promised Serena?!"

"No." She said. There was again a pause of hesitation in between statements. "It's probably not going to be a pleasant visit, Ash."

"Why Anabel? Who's here?" Ash asked.

"Max." She replied.

"Max?! What's the little brat doing here?" Ash asked. Suddenly a siren went off in his head. "Where's Abel?!" Ash asked standing up quickly "He hasn't seen Max yet has he?!" Ash was in complete panic. This would only end in disaster.

"I don't think so." Anabel said shaking her head. "He's in the south lab with the professor who's too preoccupied with Jirachi."

"Good. Anabel, I'll deal with Max. You need to go to the south lab and make sure neither Abel nor Jirachi leaves the room until I come and get you. I don't care how you do it, but we can't let J irachi and Max see each other."

"Are you sure? You don't have to face him alone."

"I'm sure, besides he's harmless, Anabel. Just make sure Abel and Jirachi don't leave the lab, and Serna can't know he's here." Ash ordered turning toward the door.

"Actually, Serena's the one who answered the door." Anabel informed him.

'Oh, no.' Ash thought to himself. "How bad was it?"

"Just a few bruises. Sophie managed to drag her to the corral before she could do any real damage. Sceptile and Infernape promised to guard the door and not let her out until Max is gone." Anabel said.

"So, you took her hostage?" Ash arched an eyebrow.

"It's for her own good. We can't have her beating anyone to a pulp. No matter how much they truly deserve it." She scowled.

"I guess you're right. But she's going to be in one hell of a mood later for not letting her go all out. You know she'd love nothing more. Pikachu, let's go." He said squatting down and stretching his arm out.

"Pika." The rodent nodded. He ran up his faithful trainer's arm and latched onto his shoulder. "Pika, Pika."

XXXXXXXXXX

He walked into the lobby to find a familiar kid sitting on a couch, holding an ice pack to his cheek, presumably waiting for him. He was almost identical save the longer hair, and extra few inches.

"Remember Pikachu, no violence. Can't risk getting arrested for beating up a kid." Ash told his friend who just nodded in return. He approached the couch from behind and cleared his throat loudly.

Max did a double take and was met with his old traveling companion glaring holes at him.

"Ash!" He said jumping to his feet and turning around to face the older boy dropping the ice pack in the process. "Hey!"

"You got thirty seconds to convince me to let you stay here. Oh, and if I find your answer particularly infuriating Charizard will be the one showing you out."

"Wait what?" He asked

"Twenty-seven." Ash replied simply.

"I came here to apologize to you, Ash!

"Twenty-one."

"Look, I'm not like my sister! I didn't think you're weak. Please just listen to me and then I promise I'll leave!" He pleaded.

Ash pondered it for a second. On one hand Max stood by while Oak shot Pikachu, and it would feel extremely good to have Charizard show Mac the way out, then claim self-defense. On the other hand, in his rage he nearly overlooked Dawn and he truly didn't know Max's side to all this.

"Fine. Continue."

"I didn't want to help them Ash! But you have to understand I was scared!"

"You were scared?" Ash repeated. "You stand by them, keep out of contact for over a year, show up unannounced claiming to have a reason for the hellish torment you participated in, and that's the big reveal?! You were scared?" Ash asked heating up.

"I wanted to help you but he threatened to not only ruin my career as a trainer but take away my Treecko too! You know how much power he had!"

"So, they couldn't ruin yours, but it was okay to officially end Pikachu's? You see the exoskeleton. He isn't allowed to compete anymore"

"No! When I agreed to help them May told me they would approach you non-violently!"

"You mean to tell me that after they threatened to take away your only pokemon, you honestly thought they would not use violence?" Ash asked skeptically.

Max blushed slightly "Okay, when you put it like that, I guess I do sound pretty gullible."

"Yeah, and what about when they did use violence? Were you suddenly just okay with it."

"I wanted to help, I swear! But I would have failed. My Treecko couldn't take on an army of highly trained pokemon. I would've been no help anyway!"

"Dawn defected and she and Togekiss failed. I still took her with me because she had the heart to stand with me. Care to explain why Anabel swears you were content with what you were doing? And don't you dare call her a liar, or I'll throw you out now myself."

"I admit I was content. But it wasn't because I hated you! It was because Treecko and I wouldn't be separated. I'm sorry it had to come down to this, but you have to believe me! They would've taken my partner!" He pleaded once more.

"Do I now?" Ash asked. "Who was able to hold off all of you and save his pokemon from inside Oak's lab? You should have known that I would never have let them do something so shameful. I was your friend. And so far, you haven't given me good enough reason to let you back into my life."

"I miss you, Ash. And I miss Brock." He said sadly. "I admit it. I was wrong. I never meant to hurt you, and I had no idea Oak would go as far as to shoot you. I was only thinking of Treecko."

"You and your pokemon have my pity for the situation you were put in but not my forgiveness."

"Isn't there anything I can do?" Max asked

Ash sighed "Follow me." Ash said turning towards the corral. "There's more you need to see.

XXXXXXXXXX

Ash led Max to the doors to the corral. "Wait here, or you'll be mauled on sight." Ash told him, refusing to directly look at him.

He walked through the doors, leaving Max behind, to find Sceptile to his left and Infernape to his right.

"Ash!" A very familiar voice called. Ash turned to see Serena running towards him with her faithful fox pokemon by her side. "Are you alright? Is he still here? Do you need me and Braxien to take care of him?" She asked impatiently.

"He's behind that door, and you're not going to do anything." He told her. "Don't get yourself in trouble over something insignificant like him. You need to keep up the Kalos Queen image." He smiled at her noticing her gush a little. "Infernape," He called over his shoulder to his primate friend. "Take Serena back to our spot. Don't let her try anything, okay buddy?" The Flame Pokemon grunted in response an escorted a reluctant Serena away.

"Sceptile, stay with me and Pikachu in case he tries anything." His Gecko friend nodded in response and he let Max in.

"Is it safe?" Max asked. Instead of Ash answering he was met with a growling Sceptile causing him to flinch.

"Come on, there's something you need to see." Ash said leading Max further into the corral.

XXXXXXXXXX

They had been walking in silence until they reached what Ash was leading them to. Gary's shrine.

"Who's grave?" Max asked getting a closer look.

"Gary's."

"What? When? How?"

"The same day you turned your backs on me. When Oak burned his lab to the ground to avoid being caught he killed his only grandson. So far had he fallen from the young Celebi loving boy I once knew." Ash said not taking his eyes away from the grave.

"I just figured he was like Brock and stopped talking to me. I didn't know, there wasn't even mention of a funeral."

"I kept it as exclusive as possible. No one who didn't need to be there was. And that includes you." Ash said coldly.

"Ash, I'm so-"

"Don't you dare apologize to me again. You don't get to apologize anymore! Look at it!" He said pointing at the grave. "He saved my pokemon, he saved Ambipom, he saved me, and he payed the ultimate price for his part in helping me! This is what a friend is. Someone who's there for you when you need them even if it means they'll end up hurt! He's dead!" Ash continued as tears filled his eyes. "And part of me died with him. The part of me that wanted to be your friend. You can claim it was in the most indirect way but like it or not you had something to do with this man's death, and you get to live with that."

"But I didn't-"

"I done with your excuses! You say you came here to apologize but it seems so insincere because of all these excuses! I forgave Dawn because she owned up to her mistakes and worked to right them! In the last year what have you done for those affected by what you did?!" Sycamore took me in! I gave Gary a proper funeral! Dr. Yuuki and his scientists gave Pikachu the ability to move again! So, tell me, what did you do!?"

"Nothing." Max replied looking down at his feet. "I did nothing."

"Oh, now you get it!" Ash replied sarcastically.

"ASH!" A voice yelled from behind them. They both turned to see Abel running towards them with Jirachi in tow.

"I told Anabel not to let you out!" He exclaimed. He hadn't come down from the rush of anger he got from talking to Max yet. "How did you get past her?!"

Abel came to a stop in front of them, Jirachi soon after them. "Wishmaker." Abel replied "Kinda known for getting his way. When Anabel told Sycamore what was happening, He told me to make sure you don't go overboard." He informed him pointing his finger at him accusingly. In truth Abel hadn't heard what Anabel told the Professor but Sycamore sounded serious. "I knew you were an angry dude, but this is too far! You can't just verbally assault a kid! What's going on in that head of yours?!"

"Don't point your finger at me!" He said knocking his hand away. "You don't know what you're talking about!"

"I know not to yell at a kid! Arceus Damn, Ash!"

"Pika! Pika!" Pikachu yelled trying to intervene between the two. Unlike Ash, Pikachu hadn't forgotten the importance of keeping Abel and Max apart.

Max was not paying attention to the spectacle between the two boys. He wouldn't know it but it's not every day Abel gets pissed enough to yell. However, he couldn't care less. He was focused on the wish pokemon behind Abel

"Jirachi?" He asked. He took his glasses of and rubbed his eyes roughly before putting them back on. "Am I dreaming again?"

"Max?" The wishmaker asked in return.

* * *

A couple of things quick

1\. If you're wondering why I didn't make Max entitled and evil. It's because not everything's black and white (No pun intended). It'd be no fun for me to write him if he was just a jerk all the time for no reason because that's how I always see him written in these fics. So it's up to you to decide if it's truly Max's fault or if Ash is being unreasonable.

2\. I don't know how long it will be until I can write again so you very well be waiting months. Sorry, that's just life for you.


	7. Abel vs Ash No pokemon, though?

~Somewhere underground Kalos~

"Excellent!" An old man said looking at the surveillance screen in front of him. He was sitting in pitch dark, as usual. "I knew it was a good idea to convince the boy to make amends." He said evilly. "Their reunion is working out even better than I had hoped!"

"Sir." Kane said once again, entering the dark room. Whether he liked it or not, it seemed his job was now officially to be the messenger. "Is everything alright?"

"Better than alright Jim!" He said swiveling around to face the young man. "The chosen is almost ready! He is in the process of being consumed by his own resentment and misery! As soon as it consumes him completely, he'll be ripe for the taking! That brat has been more helpful than he knows. My plan will begin within the week."

"Brat?" Kane asked.

"I posed as a kind old man and convinced one of the chosen's betrayers to try to make amends." The boss explained. "He was so easy to manipulate. I knew that seeing him again would cause the chosen so much pain. Soon his anger will turn his friends against him, and he will fulfill his destiny."

"Destiny?" Kane was so lost. He wasn't sure that his boss had all of his assets together. "Sir forgive me, but I've been holding this in for a long time. You keep calling Ketchum 'the chosen' and ask us to refer to him as such too. You keep metioning destiny but what do you know of destiny? No human can see the future." Kane said.

"Maybe not normal humans, but the Aura Guardians were able to see snidbits of the future with enough training." He replied coldly. "Tell me," He said his tone shifting from cold to smooth. "what do you know about the Aura Guardians?"

Kane really didn't like where this was going. "They were a group of heroes who could feel the mysterious force called Aura, which surrounds everything, and trained aura sensitive pokemon like Lucario's and Riolu's to be their partners. After the death of the legendary Sir Aaron thousands of years ago, an unknown group of people hunted down and killed the Aura Guardians driving them to near extinction. There are no documented survivors of the purge. Though Aura sensitive people still exist, there's no one to train them." Kane answered. "After their extermination the group of assassins vanished into the general population. No one was ever able to give the Guardians justice."

"Not all of them are dead, Jim." He told him. "Though thousands of Guardians died through that purge, few escaped into hiding."

"But that was thousands of years ago. Even if they survived, they would've passed away by now."

"One remains. A single Aura Guardian remains of the thousands that once roamed this planet." The old man informed him.

"That's impossible! That Guardian would around a thousand years old! How could they survive?" Kane asked. This was getting way too weird for his taste.

"Through an ancient forbidden teaching of the Aura Guardians." The boss answered. "Guardians could not only tap into the aura but manipulate it as well. The possibilities of aura are seemingly endless. Using the Aura located in another being, one can regain youth! True, the victims never survive, but that's the price for immortality."

"What?! How do you know this?!" Kane asked.

"Oh, dear Kane," He started. Kane flinched a little at the sound of his true name. All this time his boss had been calling him Jim. He thought that the old man was just losing it, but maybe he's not as senile as he thought. Had he been messing with him this whole time?

"I know because I'm the last Aura Guardian! I'm also the one who had the other Guardians exterminated." He revealed with a devilish grin on his face. "Only another aura sensitive person could've distinguished guardians from civilians. Their ways were ineffective and only prolonged problems. Their code that they had sworn to had made them weak! To solve a problem, you need power! The more power you have, the more problems can be fixed."

"Why are you telling me this? You do realize you just confessed to the murder of thousands of heroes, right?" Kane asked him. What's stopping him from turning and calling Officer Jenny?

"Exactly. I had thousands of highly trained Guardians exterminated. I could easily take care of you." He threatened. "Anyways you're a loyal man, just like your father. Besides, even if you did tell Jenny, nothing she could do could stop me. This plan has been in motion for 3,000 years! I foresaw the chosen one's birth, I foresaw him pursuing the path of a pokemon master, I foresaw the power he held, I manipulated his friends' emotions, their resentment for him was there, I just needed to magnify it, and finally I foresaw him growing in power beyond any of his peers!"

"So, this has all been your doing? You realize you mentally scarred this 14-year-old boy, right?"

"All in the name of the greater good. You must understand that the means may be a little off-putting but the ends with be worth it." He implored him. "Your father would understand." He smiled at him. "Your father would understand."

'Father.' Kane thought. His father was the boss's number two for years. After a horrible accident in the field, his father was killed. All he wanted was to be like his father. If his old man believed in this cause, then so did he. "I understand sir." Kane replied. "I'm with you."

"Good man. As long as you stay loyal to me, you're making your father proud." He said smiling warmly. "Now leave me, I need to meditate."

Kane left the room leaving his boss by himself in the area for his alone time. On the outside of the room he found a familiar purple monkey. The same purple monkey his father had given to him when it was still just an egg. His best and only friend. "Aipom. What's up buddy?" He asked sticking out his arm. The little pokemon quickly jumped on top of his arm and climbed to his shoulder.

"Aipom."

"Boring day, huh? Come on. Let's get some dinner, buddy."

XXXXXXXXXX

"Jirachi!" Max said still inn disbelief. "What are you doing here? When did you wake up? Why didn't you contact me?" He rattled off quickly.

"Uhhh..." The pokemon stuttered. "I'm talking to you, I can't tell time, and I can't use a phone." Jirachi answered innocently.

"Aw. Just come here!" Max said folding out his arms. The wish pokemon descended into the 11-year-olds arms.

"Why didn't you just wish to see me?"

"Abel and I agreed no more wishes." Jirachi stated. "Besides, I knew I'd see you again. That was my heart's wish. And now you and Ash are back together too!"

Max lowered his head. "Yeah...Ash. Listen me and Ash aren't on the best terms right now. He doesn't like me as much as he used to."

Jirachi tilted his head. "Why?" He asked innocently.

"Because-"

"Jirachi!" Abel shouted from their side. He aproached the two boys. "You going to introduce me?"

"Right!" Jirachi nodded happily. "This is my friend Abel. He's promised to protect me while we travel the world. Abel this is Max the one I told you about."

"That Max? Who'd of thought. Can't imagine why Ash is screaming at you of all people." Abel said.

"Yeah about that-"

"He didn't hurt you, did he?" Abel asked him.

"No, I'm fine. If you'd just let me talk-"

"Abel, would you please go back to Sycamore so I can finish my talk with Max." Ash butted in.

"You were seconds away from punching the kid when I got here, and you expect me to just leave you alone with him?" Abel asked.

"I wasn't going to punch him! If anything, I saved him! Paul wants his head on a gold platter! You don't even want to imagine what Serena would do to him given the chance. I'd wager I'm being a saint given the circumstances!"

"A saint? You can't be serious!" Abel exclaimed. He turned his back on Ash and looked Max in the eyes. "Max hand me your holonet." The boy handed over his device to him. "I don't think Ash is gonna let you stay here much longer. Here's my contact info. Now that you and Jirachi are reunited, he's going to want to see you more often." Abel smiled handing the device back to Max. "Call me and we'll arrange a date without the Gyrados, just you, me, and Jirachi."

Max was tempted. On one hand, he really wished to just walk away from all of this and just think about Jirachi. He could always come back after Ash had cooled down some. But the practical part of him knew the longer he put this off the worse it was going to get. One last try. "Thanks Abel. I leave in one second." He made his way past Abel and Jirachi and came to a stop right in front of Ash. "I know you don't want to see me, so I'll leave. Just know that I really wish it hadn't gone down the way it did but I couldn't let them have my Treecko. You're still my hero no matter what you think of me." He turned his attention to the mouse sitting on Ash's shoulder "Take it easy, Pikachu. I'm sorry to you, too." He turned around to see Jirachi right in front of him. "Goodbye, buddy." He said hugging him. He proceeded to leave the lab knowing full well Ash was staring holes into the back of his head.

"Pika." Ash's best friend said from his shoulder. "Pikachu."

"What?! What are you on about?" Turning his face to meet Pikachu's.

"Pika pi." The rodent spoke back.

"Unreasonable? Brother you've gone soft!" Ash shot back. "From a Pikachu to a Mareep in an instant." He scoffed. "I said what the kid needed to hear."

"What is wrong with you?!" A new voice joined in. The two broke from their conversation to see Abel glaring at them. "Are you insane? That was a defenseless kid you were yelling at! Shame on you, dude."

"The brat deserved it." Ash answered simply. "And didn't I tell you not to pretend to know what's going on here?"

"Then enlighten me please! Tell me why you think it's okay to treat someone like they're just a waste of space!" Abel yelled.

"He is a waste of space."

"You can't mean that." Abel shot back

"Pika." Pikachu nodded.

"See?! Even Pikachu can't back you up on this! Now you can't deny the fact you're in the wrong!"

"Maybe you should stick to being carefree, you become very annoying when you're angry." Ash retorted calmly. "You don't know what he's done."

"Is this about whatever happened a year ago? You need to let it go!" Abel shouted.

It was at that moment that something snapped. Who did this kid think he was? Here he was finally getting back at one of the people who nearly ruined his life, and this little bitch had to come and ruin it. Defending someone he never met. It reminded Ash too much of his former self, a self he wanted to forget. Abel had finally pushed him over his limit. He turned to Pikachu and gestured for him to get off his shoulder. Once the little mouse had climbed off his friend, he was surprised to see what happened next. His best friend Ash pounced onto the other boy knocking them both to the ground. Ash quickly reared back his arm, fist clenched, and thrusted it back towards Abel with as much force as he could manage. Abel, luckily, quickly moved his head a few inches to the left to avoid what would've been at least a broken nose.

"Pika!" The little mouse cried. He turned towards Ash's trusted gecko pokemon. "Pika pi." He cried to him. Sceptile just nodded in turn. Luckily Sceptile was able to pick Ash off Abel before any real damage could be done.

"What was that for?!" Abel yelled. "You could've just challenged me to a battle, you know!"

Ash was about to retort when...

"Ash!" The four turned to see Serena, Anabel, and Infernape running towards them. "Are you alright?" Anabel said coming to a stop in front of him. "Nothing broken?" Ash just shook his head. "Sorry about Abel, you look away for one second and they're gone." He also saw that Serena was wasting no time chewing Abel out.

"It's fine Anabel, but you," He said pointing at Infernape. "I thought I said to keep Serena at our spot!" He scolded the monkey. Infernape didn't say anything, he just held his hands out in front of him and opened his palms revealing a pile of red and orange pokepuffs. Ash facepalmed himself as hard as he could. "Of course, silly me. It's not like you could've waited and had some later, after I was done with Abel!" He sighed. "This is what I was afraid would happen." He said referring to Serena who was still scolding Abel. "Serena, it's fine. I can take care of him."

"And why are you scolding me?!" Abel said finally getting up from the ground. "He attacked me! Are you seriously so head over heels you can't identify when it's him that's in the wrong?"

"He's got a point you know." Anabel cut in. "It'd be one thing if it was just Max. But you tackled Abel. Did you try explaining things to him first?" She asked Ash knowing full well he didn't. "Don't get me wrong, honey, I understand more than most will, but you need to at least try using words."

Ash sighed. "Fine. maybe it was rash, but he shouldn't be sticking his nose where it doesn't belong. And telling me to let go? Who does he think he is?"

Anabel could feel Ash's anger swelling up again and decided that it would be best if she handled everything. "Hey, why don't you go call Brock?" She suggested. "It's been a couple weeks since you last spoke, right? He should have Serena's new pokemon by now." As soon as she mentioned Brock, Ash's anger began to die down once again. "Serena and I will talk to Abel."

"I guess." Ash replied. "Pikachu!" He called. The little mouse's ears twitched, and he turned his head towards Ash. "Wanna talk to Brock?" He asked the rodent.

"Pika!" The mouse said running towards his friend.

"Come on, buddy."

XXXXXXXXXX

"And then he has the audacity to tell me to let go! Can you believe that?!" Ash yelled at the screen. On it was a tall, dark, spiky haired man.

"Ash, you know I'm always on your side, but don't you feel what you did was in the least bit wrong? Don't get me wrong, I get where you're coming from, but it sounds like the guy just doesn't understand." He told him

"Funny Brock, Anabel said the same thing." Ash pouted. "And is it so wrong to just wish he'd mind his own business?"

"Sounds like Anabel." Brock commented. "Look Ash, I'm not saying he was right in assuming he had enough knowledge of the situation to put his two cents in, what I am saying is you shouldn't have tackled him." He reasoned.

"Yeah, yeah." Ash commented half-heartedly.

Brock could feel Ash wasn't ready to accept an opposing point of view "I feel like we need a change of subject. I've got the pokemon." Brock said. He motioned for an off-camera person to come into view. One of Brock's younger siblings came on camera holding a pokemon Ash had encountered many times across his journey through various regions, Vulpix.

"Hi Ash." The boy waved.

"Forrest. Good to see you again. How's the gym doing?" Ash asked

"Good. Although things have been awfully slow lately." Forrest answered

"This is the little girl I told you about. Some Team Rocket reject abandoned him just outside route 28."

"Team Rocket reject?"

"Yeah. You know, outrageous clothes, ridiculous hair color, obviously up to no good, the usual." Brock quipped. "There have been several disappearances across Kanto and Johto lately and the Jennies asked the Gym leaders of Kanto to step in. After Forrest told her he was too busy I volunteered as former gym leader to take his place on the task force."

"You think this person has something to do with the disappearances?" Ash asked his long time friend.

"Ash, in your experience, if someone has a formal outfit, what does that mean?"

"They're part of an evil organization and working to undermine everything we love." Ash answered instinctively. There was a slight pause between the two. "Oh." Ash let out. "I see your point."

"Yeah, see. And when Jenny asked me to help her out, well you know how I get." He chuckled slightly. I kinda thought it would just be the two of us when I agreed." He admitted sweating a little and pushing his pointer fingers together.

"Anything to get a leg up on the competition." Ash responded.

"But enough of that, it's not like you're part of the task force. Back to this little girl. This is Vulpix." He said scratching behind the fox's ear. "After being left behind she fell into a deep depression, the only reason she's willing to let someone see her is because she found some solace in pokemon performing. I promised her if she started smiling again I'd deliver her to a performer friend of mine."

"Serena." Ash said. "Alright, transfer her over."

"Yeah thing is," Brock said. "My transporters on the fritz. I'll need someone to come and pick her up in person."

Ash gave out a groan. "Fine, I'll send Serena over on one of my pokemon. Hopefully they'll be there later today." Ash suddenly heard a rapid beeping from the other side of the screen. "What's that?"

"A pager. Listen I have to end our call. Jenny told me she'd only use the pager if someone else went missing. You understand. Yolanda will be waiting for Serena at the house."

"Got it. I'll send her and Charizard over right away. Charizard knows the way best. Keep me updated on the situation and don't get yourself kidnapped out there." Ash quipped.

"I'll be careful." Brock nodded.

"Bye Ash!" Forrest shouted from the background.

XXXXXXXXXX

(Back at the Corral)

Ash was standing with Serena and most of his pokemon in their spot at the corral. All his pokemon were there save for Staraptor, Noivern, Talonflame, and Gliscor who were flying around above them. "So that's about the state of it. You and Charizard are going to leave immediately." Ash told her. "Don't worry, if there's any trouble I have the utmost faith that Charizard can take care of it. Right, buddy?" He asked the dragon tapping his back slightly. The flame pokemon just belted a stream of fire into Ash's face in response. Ash coughed and chuckled lightly. "See?" Pikachu then jumped off of Ash's shoulder and began to shake off all the soot.

"Are you sure you won't come with me? I could use the company." Serena asked batting her eyes at him.

Ash laughed again. "Serena, you know lillipup eyes don't work on me. I need to stay behind and do some training. Besides Charizard is great company. All that fire breathing and those threatening roars are just a decoy, his heart's pure gold."

"What do you mean training? Are you going to enter the league again?"

Ash had completely forgotten that the training was supposed to be secret. "Uh, yeah. The league. I'm finally feeling up for it again, so it's back to the spot for me."

Serena jumped forward and hugged him. "I'm so happy for you! You're finally going after your dream again! Alright, I won't keep you any longer. With that Ash handed her Charizard's pokeball, she recalled the dragon, blew Ash a kiss and ran out the door. Ash sighed heavily. He was lucky it was Serena. Only she would get so excited that she wouldn't see he was lying. Brock, Anabel, and probably even Clemont would have called his bluff for sure.

"That's a nice girlfriend you got there." A foreign voice said. Ash snapped out of his trance and turned to see a nicely dressed man walking towards him. All Ash's ground pokemon immediately took battle stances.

"Easy kids, I'm not here to fight. But just in case," The man pulled out a black pokeball and threw it directly upward. What came next shocked all of them. In front of them now stood a Registeel in all it's intimidating glory.

"A legendary pokemon? Where did you get a Registeel?" Ash asked.

"There are several hanging around at the Tree of Beginnings. Wasn't too tough to find them."

"Somehow I have a felling someone like you shouldn't be desecrating a place like that." Ash shot back.

"I'm hurt." The man said sarcastically. "And I suppose it was perfectly fine when you went there and upset the native pokemon with your meddling?" The man smirked.

"How do you know about that?! I haven't told anyone besides my friends about that place! Just who are you?"

"They call me Sketch. We know much about your travels, chosen. The Tree of Beginnings, The Reverse World, Samiya, the Azoth Kingdom, so much excitement you've seen, my chosen."

"I'm nobody's chosen. Especially not yours." Ash retorted. "And just because you're a creepy stalker, doesn't mean you know me."

"I don't, but my boss does. Your time is coming chosen, don't fight it. I have a message from my boss. The time is nigh for you to join us and fulfill your destiny at his side."

"I happen to be in a very good mood today, so I'll tell you what," Ash started not taking his eyes of Sketch. "You leave now and quit calling me 'chosen' and you won't get hurt, refuse and... well..." Ash snapped his fingers causing a solarbeam and a focus blast to fire two inches to the right of Registeel and Sketch. They both turned to see Sceptile glaring at them and the bud on Bulbasaur smoking slightly. "next time I won't miss." Ash threatened.

"Cute." Sketch replied. He grabbed another pokeball from his pocket and let out another pokemon, Alakazam. "You're clearly not ready yet, but you'll get there. Keep in touch. Oh, and if he contacts you again, tell your dead friend all the training in the world can't beat us. Alakazam, take us out of here." With that the trio transported to Arceus knows where leaving Ash to ponder what just happened. He could accept that they knew of all his travels, but to know that Lucario had contacted him and knew what he told Ash.


	8. Finally, the Real Battle

Quick before you read this go watch Jello Apocalypse's 'Reviewing Pokemon Movies to Their Theme Songs' if you haven't already. It's hilarious.

* * *

Ash, Pikachu, sitting on the table, Anabel, Clemont, and Bonnie were sat in the cafeteria room of Professor Sycamore's laboratory. Abel and Minun were currently out on the town and Ash wouldn't be surprised if they had met up with Max somewhere. Even after Ash had cooled down from the fight he and the scatterbrain had, he still wanted nothing to do with him. On the Tv were two newscasters, one male and one female, reporting on the recent disappearances.

"In other news, in the past 24 hours there have been dozens more cases of mysterious disappearances across Kanto, Johto, Sinnoh, and even a few cases in Hoenn and Unova. Among the missing peoples are Battle Frontier members Tucker and Greta." The female reported

"Oh no." Anabel said.

"Anyone with any information on the possible whereabouts of these two or any others who have gone missing have been asked to contact your local Jenny immediately." The male reporter continued.

"Both Kanto and Johto have already put together elite search teams consisting of Jennies, Joys, Gym leaders, and other alumni to help get to the bottom of these incidents. No ransom notes, explanations, or even clues have been left behind at the sites of the kidnappings. We'll keep you updated on the status of the situation, this is the channel 10 news team signing off." The female anchor finished.

"You can shut it off now, Clemont." Ash said. Clemont pointed the remote towards the TV and hit the power button.

"That's impossible." Anabel said in disbelief. "There would have to be an entire squad of elite four tier soldiers to subdue and capture a frontier brain." Anabel theorized. "No member of the elite four would do something so cruel."

"Who said it had to be someone from the elite four?" Clemont asked. "There are plenty of pokemon trainers out there with boundless unfounded potential. Either way someone's up to something and I fear it's worse than mere kidnapping."

"And Brock's out there with 'em" Ash added. "I should be out there, too."

"I think it'd be best to figure out what's going on before you do your normal 'dive in head first routine'."

"What do you thinks really going on, big brother?" Bonnie asked looking up at her sibling. Dedenne stuck it's head out of Bonnie's purse and perked it's ears up.

"I don't know. But I'm adding a new temporary family rule, no traveling alone. If the kidnappings are happening in the five closest regions, chances are they'll start happening here too." He said stroking his chin. "I'll have to start on a new invention. Possibly a portable security system of some sort. Until it's finished anywhere you go, I go. Parks, stores, centers, doesn't matter."

"But I can't have you tagging along everywhere I go! I can take care of myself!" She pouted crossing her arms across her chest defiantly.

"No buts!" Clemont shot back.

"Clemont's right Bonnie." Ash cut in. "It's all going to hell out there."

"Ash Ketchum! Don't swear in front of Bonnie." Anabel scolded.

"Oh please. After all she's been through? She can handle a few words that only hold value if you give it to them. Right Clemont?"

Clemont shrugged. "As long as she doesn't repeat it, I don't care." Suddenly they heard a knock. They all turned to see Abel standing in the doorway with his friend sitting on the ground next to him.

"Can I talk to you, Ash?" Abel ask with Minun nodding his head along.

"Sure. Talk away." Ash replied uninterested.

"Alone." Abel replied sternly. Ash let out a heavy sigh.

"Fine. Guys," He said turning to his friends. "I'll be right back." He extended his arm and grabbed a hold of the end of the table. "C'mon Pikachu." Pikachu gave a little nod and proceeded to climb Ash's arm.

Ash, Pikachu, Abel, and Minun walked out of the cafeteria and closed the door behind them. "Can I help you?" Ash said irritation dripping in his voice. Pikachu just sighed and shook his head at the trainer.

"Yeah. You can tell me why you've been avoiding me. All week I've been trying to get with you and you've either given me some lame excuse or ignored me completely."

"Maybe I just don't like you." Ash deadpanned.

"Pika! Pi!" the little mouse exclaimed.

"What?" Ash asked turning to his friend. "Too soon?" He asked sarcastically.

"Pika." He said irritated.

"I figured as much." Abel said. "But you've interacted with me for what? An hour tops?" Abel asked. "Just because I stopped you from beating up a kid five years younger than you, now you hate me?"

"Are you still on that? Is that what this is about? I thought Serena and Anabel explained it all to you, the kid is worse than he let on."

"Really? Cause I've met with him a couple times since he left. Doesn't seem so bad to me. 'Cept he gets real sad when we mention you. Maybe you should give him another chance.

"No." Ash replied simply. "Not gonna happen. I don't have time for him, not anymore."

"All right. How about this?" Abel said in defeat. "Anabel and Serena gave me a very, and I mean very vague idea of what's going on. All they said was Max betrayed your friendship and hurt you. Bad. But he doesn't seem so bad to me. In fact, when he's around Jirachi it's like the two were meant to be friends. So I have a proposal."

"I'm listening." Ash said

"We have a battle. If I win you drop your grudge and give the kid another chance. You'll also tell me, in great detail, why you hate him so much. If you win, I'll drop the issue completely, you can continue being as secretive as you want, I will ask no further questions of your past, and while I will continue my friendship with Max, you can keep hating him."

"You want to battle me?"

"Of course. There's no better way to come to an understanding than with a good old-fashioned battle. Three on three. First to two wins is the victor. You in?"

"Yeah, just keep your end of the bargain when I win."

"If you win." Abel corrected with a finger to the ceiling.

"When I win." Ash shot back. "And to make it fair, I'll have a handicap."

"I don't need an advantage."

"Trust me, you do. I'll have Anabel equip my belt with randomly chosen pokemon so I won't know what pokemon I'm using until I pull out the pokeball. Trust me, you're going to need the handicap. In all honesty he wasn't sure Abel needed the handicap, but he did. It'll be a nice challenge for his training. "Pikachu," He said turning to his best friend. "Go get the others. We'll need Clemont for referee as well, okay buddy?"

"Pika!" He replied jumping off Ash's shoulder.

"Shall we?" Abel asked gesturing down the hallway. Ash just ignored him and elbowed past Abel, continuing down the hallway.

"I think that went well, don't you Minun?" Abel asked his friend who just nodded his head multiple times in return.

XXXXXXXXXX

In the Corral Abel and Ash stood on opposite ends many meters away from each other. Abel with his first pokemon ready and Ash waiting until Abel threw the pokeball for him to pull his first. It was very tempting to look at his belt equipped with six pokeballs, but he knew he'd recognize at least a few of them and he wanted this challenge to force him to think on his feet even faster than usual, skipping the planning stage completely. Clemont stood directly in the middle of the two and Anabel and Bonnie of to the side.

"This oughta be good." A voice said from behind the girls and Pikachu sitting on the sidelines.

"Professor!" Bonnie said. "What are you doing here?"

"Who can't resist a good battle?" He replied to the little girl. "Especially with the fiery tension between these two. I also hoped to see Jirachi in action."

"Is that even legal?" Anabel asked.

"Under normal circumstances, no. You'd be disqualified immediately. But this isn't an official match."

"So, Ash might have to face a legendary pokemon when he doesn't even know who he's using?" Bonnie asked.

"Pika!" Pikachu added.

"Yes. Quite the predicament my boy has made for himself huh? I wonder why he would put himself at such a disadvantage." Sycamore thought out loud.

Back on the field Clemont raised one arm to the sky. "The battle between Ash and Abel will now begin. Each participant is permitted use of three pokemon. Once one trainer reaches 2 wins, the match will conclude and said trainer will be crowned the victor. Both participants are prohibited from substituting their pokemon. I don't feel I need to point this out, but I wouldn't be doing my job otherwise. Any form of foul play will disqualify you immediately, Do each of you understand the rules?" Ash and Abel both gave a subtle nod. "The let the match begin!"

XXXXXXXXXX

"Ha! Playing out just as I had foreseen. Kane!" A man shouted at his lackey from an all too familiar room. Kane, with his Aipom in tow, entered the room and Aipom took one giant leap directly onto Kane's shoulder grabbing hold of it with his little nub hands.

"Sir! You called?" Kane said saluting. Seeing this Aipom got to his feet and used his tail to mimic the salute from his spot on Kane's shoulder.

"Yes. You brought the prisoners with you, yes?"

"Yes, sir. Both Frontier brains are just outside and under control." Kane replied holding his pose.

"Bring them in here. I want to see them." His boss ordered. "Now."

"Yes sir." Kane opened the door behind him wider and gestured waved his hand. On cue two guards came in with Greta and Tucker in their custody. Tucker was strangely calm for a hostage but Greta was struggling like she had just been caught by a Lickylicky.

"It's useless, my dear." The man said approaching her. "The harder you struggle, the tighter your bonds will get. Can't have you running around doing what you want now can we?"

"Do you know who you're messing with?" Greta spat. "I'll whoop your sorry ass in twenty seconds flat!"

"Not likely. See, this has been a long time coming. I always think two steps ahead. I knew you were a strong fighting type trainer so I sent an entire squad of elite Ghost users after you. I knew there was a chance you'd be able to fend those lackeys off, so I set up a second wave ambush as well. I knew even after you were subdued and captured you'd break out of your bonds, so I built bonds specifically catered to combat your strengths. I know once I show you two in my custody to the friends of the chosen, they'll come running with extra backup, and when they get here not only will their friend be in league with me, but an overwhelming trap will be set for them."

"You want Ash." Tucker said dangerously. "Don't you?"

"Yes the boy is the last factor I need to put my ultimate plan into place. Phase 1 was completed long ago, when I exterminated those foolish guardians. Phase 2 involved me finding this boy and isolating him as much as possible while simultaneously making him more hateful. Now for Phase 3. Get him to join us."

"He wouldn't." Greta shot back. "You may have turned some of his friends against him, you failed with others. As long as he has them, nothing can stop him."

"Ah, yes. The age-old 'power of friendship' Grandbullshit argument." He chuckled slightly. "Even the purest of hearts can be manipulated." He said raising a hand which was engulfed in a blue aura. "All you need is a little push." He grinned.

"Sir?" Kane asked. He really hated it when the boss went on those weird rants.

"I'm growing tired of these two. Throw them in the chambers I have prepared for them." As he said this, he hit another of his many buttons causing two pods, both around seven feet tall and four feet wide, rose up from the floor of the room. The two guards holding the brains began shoving them violently towards the pods. Have Agent 2 wire our frequency into Sycamore's computer monitors. We'll give these 'heroes a show so great they won't be able to resist coming to see it for themselves. But first." He said walking over to his computer. He hit a small green button and slowly lowered his head into a microphone. "Oak, are you there?"

"Yes sir." A familiar voice to the brains said from the other side.

"I have a mission for you. I'm sending you coordinates to a spot where you'll wait until further notice, understood?"

"Yes sir, just let me get the others to cover for me." Oak responded.

"He's been here?" Tucker asked. "This whole time?"

"Yes. But his usefulness has expired. This will be the last mission he ever carries out."

XXXXXXXXXX

~Back at the Corral~

"Come on out, Lopunny!" Abel yelled releasing his friend. The light faded to show a Large bipedal rabbit. In return as pulled a pokeball of his belt and scanned it before letting out a chuckle.

"Bayleef, I choose you, I guess!" He yelled releasing one of his oldest friends.

"Round 1 begins!" Clemont called.

"Lopunny! Ice punch!" Abel called. Lopunny shot forward, its hand engulfing itself in snow and ice, and charged the seemingly defenseless Bayleef.

"Bayleef, plant your seeds, then retreat, old pal!" Ash called in return. Bayleef dropped a few seeds onto the ground then jumped back a couple feet. Bayleef turned its back to Lopunny and began to shake its rear at the Lopunny in an attempt to aggravate the rival pokemon.

It worked.

Lopunny picked up it speed but just as she was about to land the punch, she stepped onto the planted the seeds causing them to explode on impact knocking the bunny back to Abel's side of the field.

'Never seen Seed Bomb used like that before.' Abel thought. 'Even his pokemon knew exactly what to do without him having to scream it out.'

"Razor leaf her before she gets back up!" Ash yelled snapping Abel out of thought. Multiple leaves flew into Lopunny's face just as she was getting up.

"Get up Lopunny!" Abel called "Nun!" The little one echoed in its own language. "Into the air!" From the smoke the bunny shot vertically into the air. "Protect, then charge Bayleef again!" The rabbit slammed its hands together as a blue force circle around them before rocketing towards the Bayleef once again.

"Break through that shield with your Leaf Blade!" Bayleef ran forward as Lopunny descended it way towards her. When they got in close enough vicinity Bayleef slammed it head leaf against the shield shattering it completely. Little did Ash know this is what Abel wanted.

"Now, while there's still time it them with an Ice punch!" It was a fake out. And it worked. Lopunny's fist collided with Bayleef's face knocking it backwards doing multiple somersaults.

Meanwhile Serena, back with Charizard from her two-day trip to Kanto entered the corral looking for the raven-haired boy. "Ash!" She called running towards the field taking no notice of the battle going on. "Wait till you see my new pokemon, it's so cute!" She yelled only to have Anabel shush her.

"Can't you see there's a battle going on?" Anabel snapped.

"Sorry. What happened?" Serena asked.

"They just needed to blow off a little steam." Bonnie answered. "You know Ash, no other way to settle his differences."

Back on the field, Ash wasn't about to let Abel get the better of him. "Back on your feet, Bayleef! Hit em with a Seed Bomb again. Right in front of Lopunny, the seeds spawned in front of Bayleef before she fired some of them straight at Lopunny landing right at her feet. "Now!" Through the smoke Bayleef shot forward and combined her leaf blade and take down for her most powerful combo.

Lopunny fell to the ground back a couple dozen feet.

"Lopunny, you good?" Lopunny grunted an agreement before staggering to her feet.

"One last Ice punch!" Abel commanded. Lopunny closed in for another punch.

"Let it hit you." Ash commanded.

As Loppuny was inches away, Ash seemingly changed his mind.

"As soon as hits, bite her!"

"If you endure." Abel taunted. "Full power!"

In an explosion of ice, frosty smoke surrounded the two brawlers blinding them both. When the smoke cleared Bayleef had not fainted she had latched onto Lopunny's fist.

"Leaf Blade!"

Bayleef's head glowed as she slammed the leaf on her head into Lopunny, knocking her out cold.

"Lopunny!" Abel called.

"Lopunny is unable to battle! Round 1's victor is Ash!" He said pointing his green flag at Ash. "Please Choose your next pokemon."

"Go Ash!" Serena and Bonnie cheered. Anabel just gave him a knowing smirk.

"What? No cheers for me?!" Abel yelled at them. "Harsh."

"Mi-Nun!" The little Pikachu clone echoed.

"What can I say?" Ash said. "I'm just more likeable."

"Oh really, now?" Abel shot back. "We'll just see about that." He pulled his second ball from his pocket. "Go Typhlosion!" He called letting out the next contestant.

"Here goes nothing." Ash said pulling his second. He scanned it swiftly. 'Oh dear. Not really my best choice.' He thought to himself. "Oh, well. Snivy!" He said letting out the snake. "Probably around twice as much health and a type advantage but we can do this old friend. Snivy crossed its arms and nodded in agreement. "Work that Unova charm, Attract!"

Snivy winked slyly at the bigger pokemon and shot multiple hearts towards him with a direct hit.

Typhlosion became entranced and infatuated with the small snake.

"Oh, come on!" Abel shouted. "Really? Snap out of it, man! You're like ten times her size, how would that even work?!"

On the sidelines Bonnie tugged at her brothers' jumpsuit. "Hey bro, what does he mean? Why couldn't a relationship between them work?" Of course, being the hopeless romantic she is, Bonnie asked.

"Not important!" Clemont shot her down quickly. "Watch the battle, Bonnie."

"Snivy, Grass Pledge him!" Ash called. What looked like several Leaf Tornadoes surrounded the giant before closing in on him and painfully snapping him out of his trance.

"You all done being googly eyed?" Abel asked. When Typhlosion grunted an okay Abel took his chance "Grass Pledge is a draining move! Use Flame Wheel while she's recovering! Don't hit her though! Circle around her!"

Typhlosion nodded and curled up into a ball and lit itself on fire, It began cycling towards the flinching grass snake pokemon.

"Snivy, you gotta move!" Ash called. But he was already too late. Typhlosion had already begun circling Snivy. Walls of flames many feet taller than her closed her in from moving outside her little bubble of space.

"You can jump high enough!" Ash called.

"Snivy!" She said disagreeing.

"Now while she's still trapped! Hit her with a Flame Wheel again!"

Typhlosion curled back up and rolled itself forcefully into the serpent knocking her back. Covered in bruises and burns she staggered back to her tiny feet before beginning to glow. Ash instantly recognized the glow as well. The feet grew slightly bigger and flatter. Her bod became twice as long and a dull horn on her head. The light bursted of her in thousands of pieces revealing a seemingly new pokemon.

"Nice. A Servine." Ash commented. "Alright Servine go in for a Leaf Blade!"

"Vine!" She ran forward the end of her tail glowing. She jumped and did multiple frontflips.

'Let's take a note from Ash's book.' "hold position Typhlosion." He commanded.

Servine collided its tail with Typhlosion's face.

"Now! Thunderpunch!" Typhlosion's paw began to fizz and crackle as he gave his whole might into one punch against the poor Servine.

Servine fell backwards onto the floor and didn't get back up.

"Servine is unable to battle! Round 2's victor: Abel and Typhlosion!"

"Return!" Abel and Ash both called, recalling their respective pokemon.

"Final round. Feelin Lucky?" Abel taunted.

"Unlike you, I don't need luck. Because I've got..." He said reaching into his pocket. He pulled out his final pokeball and chuckled slightly. "Infernape!" He yelled releasing his ape friend.

"Infernape!"

"Come on, Jirachi!" Abel called letting out his legendary partner.

'Yay!' Jirachi cheered doing a twirl in the air.

"I'm hungry, so how about we finish this quick?" Abel said

"What makes you think you can? Infernape's not a pushover, he's one of my strongest!"

"Let's see if you're as strong as you say Infernape or if it's all bravado!" Abel yelled. "You wanted a challenge and you've got one! Jirachi, I've always wanted to do this, Doom Desire!"

"What! Are you serious? Ugh!" Ash slapped his face in frustration.

"Hey Professor," Serena asked from her seat. "What's Doom Desire?"

"It's a move that not many get to see. It's unique to Jirachi alone. From what I've read it's basically a countdown timer to your loss. If what I studied is correct Infernape has around one minute before he faints." Sycamore elaborated.

"That's not fair!" Bonnie yelled. "How's he supposed to beat that?!"

"He's got a minute to figure it out." Anabel said leaning forward. "If anyone can do it, he can."

Back with Ash his scowl turned into a slight chuckle. "I did ask for a challenge. But I'm still not going to let you best me. Infernape Flare Blitz! I want you to push yourself harder than ever before. You've only got one shot!"

"Meet it head on with a Zen Headbutt, Jirachi!" Abel called. Infernape surrounded itself with nothing but flames, while Jirachi surrounded itself with its psychic force. The two the jetted towards each other both intent on victory.

"Clemont! Hit the deck!" Ash called. Clemont nodded and ran farther south from the fight. Meanwhile the two pokemon met head on in a flurry of fire and psychokinesis. The grass around them was singed back at the spectators spot you could still feel the heat of the force. Unfortunately, they had to wait for the victor because of the smoke and debris surrounding the site.

As the smoke cleared you could begin the make out the silhouettes of the two pokemon. Clemont rushed back to the field to make the final call. They finally came into focus and Clemont was able to make a fair statement.

"Neither pokemon is able to continue!" He called eyeing both unmoving pokemon. "That means that the victor of this battle...is no one." Clemont concluded.

At this point Serena, Anabel, Bonnie, and Sycamore joined them at the battlefield.

'I didn't win? Shoot.' Ash thought to himself. 'Stupid Doom Desire.'

"You were great Infernape, rest well." Ash said returning the pokemon to its pokeball before being tackle hugged.

"I'm back Ash!" Serena cheered.

"So I noticed." Ash choked out. "A little air?" He pleaded.

"Oh yeah." She blushed. "Sorry. You were so close! You were great."

"Yeah but close won't save the world." Ash muttered.

"What?" Serena asked. "Didn't hear you."

"Nothing, Serena." Ash sighed. "Listen, you guys go back and finish breakfast, I'm gonna go for a walk."

"I'll go with you, you haven't met my new pokemon, yet!" Serena said eagerly.

"Pika!" The little mouse agreed running up to his best friend.

"No. I'm good. You guys stay here. I just need some alone time." He said heading towards the door. "I'll meet you guys back here in a while." He said.

"Wonder what's wrong." Serena thought out loud.

"I guess this means he won't give Max another chance." Abel said joining her in watching Ash make his way out of the corral.

"Pika." The little rodent said climbing Serena and perching himself on her shoulder.

XXXXXXXXXX

"The chosen is isolated." The man said from behind his computer. On the screen he watched as Ash made his way down a dirt road in a nearby park. The man hit the green button connected to the lab speaker on his dashboard. "Oak you are to leave Immediately. Take your best team of pokemon with you." He ordered. "I'll have my Alakazam teleport you immediately."

The mystery man hit the same button from earlier and four pods rose up from the floor. One containing Greta, another holding Spenser, and the remaining two holding the grunts Ash and Abel faced at the corral. "It's high time I contacted these 'heroes'. But first," He pulled his arm up to his face and spoke into a small mic embedded in it. "Head of the drafting squad come in. Jo do you hear me?"

"Loud and clear, boss man. What's up?"

"Recall all operatives across Johto, Hoenn, and Unova and have them report to the defense border immediately. I'm taking us into the next phase of operation Recruit. Also tell all other remaining members of the drafting squad to double their efforts."

"Yes sir." The feminine voice replied. "Anything else?"

"No. Continue about your mission." He ordered.

Suddenly, his computer screen started beeping. "Looks like Agent 2 got the connection up. Time for a show." He smirked.

XXXXXXXXXX

"I can't believe Ash wouldn't let me go with him!" Serena pouted. "I just got back, too."

"Pika." Pikachu added, perched on Serena's shoulder for a change since Ash told him to stay behind.

The group of them were back at the cafeteria getting some lunch.

"You're always clinging to his side, perhaps he's sick of you." Anabel quipped causing the girl to glare at her.

"He's been acting weird lately. More so than usual." Clemont added. "Feels like he's hiding something. You wouldn't happen to know anything that's bothering him would you, Pikachu?"

Pikachu did know what was going on but remembered clearly that he was to tell no one. The mouse just shook his head slowly. He felt guilty for lying to his friends, but he knew it was for the greater good.

"If you don't know anything, then it's either really bad, or nothing at all." Clemont said

"You mean he isn't always?" Abel asked. "I just figured it came with his brooding nature." He said shoving a donut into his mouth, but of course, not before breaking of a piece for Minun.

"He normally isn't so edgy." Serena said. "Even after what happened in Kanto, he could still be his usual happy go lucky self as long as he was with us. Kind of like he had two different personalities. When he was with people he didn't know he was hermit Ash, but with us he was the real Ash."

"Ever since those kidnappings started happening and he started training again, he's been acting more like reserved Ash." Anabel finished.

"Huh. You know maybe it would help if I knew the whole story." Abel said. "You know, the part you never told me?" The group of four exchanged glances.

"One of you guys tell him." Clemont said. "He'll chew me out if I do it. He'd never chew you two out and we could always blame it on Bonnie's spontaneous, kiddy, nature." He reason.

"Fine. But it's a long story so we'll give you the cliffnotes." Anabel said. "So, Ash came second in the Kalos league and went home to relax a few days but his Mom and some of his old friends said some really cruel things to him and by extension, Pikachu, but we stood with him. Then in an attempt to rescue some of his pokemon that stood up for him as well but the rest of his pokemon and his old friends attacked him. He got out with us and his pokemon but lost his childhood friend and nearly Pikachu as well thanks to Professor Oak."

"Wow. That's heavy." Abel said. "So, was Max a part of that group?"

"Yes. That's why Ash hates him so much." Serena answered. "I'm not convinced of his character either." She said crossing her arms.

"Of course, you're not." Abel deadpanned. "It seems so out of character for an esteemed professor with no previous record to just break out in a violent rage." Abel said.

Behind them a loud static sound was heard coming from the TV.

"Hey who turned that on?" Clemont asked. After waiting a few seconds for an answer, he got one."

"I did." A voice none of them recognized said. They turned to the TV to see a rather elderly man on the screen.

"Did that TV just talk to us?" Abel asked.

"I think so." Clemont said. "Interesting."

"If you're finished." The man said. "Allow me to elaborate. You may refer to me as 'The boss'. And I have something to show you." He stepped out of the way to show both captured frontier brains floating submerged in two separate stasis pods.

"Tucker! Greta!" Anabel shot up out of her seat.

"Not as tough as I had hoped for the famous Kanto Frontier Brains." The boss mocked. "Still they have abnormally strong wills, making them beyond useful to me."

"So that means you're the one behind the kidnappings." Clemont deduced.

"Oooh. I didn't know the president of the obvious club would grace us with his presence." He smirked. "Yes. That was me, or more specifically my drafting squads spread out across the regions."

"You'll release them if you know what's good for you and your sleazy lackeys." Anabel threatened.

"Ah, yes." He eyed the former frontier brain. "You must be the former Salon Maiden. Nice to make your acquaintance, madame. Anyway, I'm afraid these two are too valuable a source to give up. I just thought I'd be somewhat fair and show you what you're up against here. I know about all of you, you won't stay put while your precious world order is in danger. But maybe this can dissuade you from doing anything rash. Now, minion!" He called behind him.

Behind him an unnamed lackey flipped a large switch attached to the wall behind him causing another tube to rise up from under the floor. However, while the ones holding the unconscious brains were blue, this one was red. The boss climbed into the red tube and gave his minion a slight nod. On cue the man flipped another lever to the left of the one he flipped second ago and after a flash of lights, both Greta's tube and The boss's tube began to glow their respective colors. A large metal tube also popped out of the top of Greta's tube and attached itself to The boss'.

What happened next was something that none of those at Sycamore's even knew was possible. As both tubes were filled with a blue aura, the wrinkles on the mysterious man's face began to unfold into smooth skin and his grey hair faded into a light brown. The bags under his eyes began to fade away as well.

"What the..." Serena started.

"Chuu." Pikachu said in disbelief from Serena's shoulder.

Simultaneously Greta had the opposite effect. The skin on her face began to fold in multiple spot and her hair turned a much lighter shade of yellow. When the process was completed, Greta's pod with the now significantly older version of herself was lowered back under the floor along with the other captives and The boss stepped out of his pod slowly.

"Hey, big brother? What just happened to that lady?" Bonnie asked innocently. Dedenne mirroring her head swing toward her brother.

"Uhh. I have a theory, but it's got to be pure science fiction." Clemont commented.

On the other side of the screen The boss began rubbing his wrists. "Good as new." He turned his attention back to the group of teens. "Quite the feat, no?"

"It has to be some sort of optical illusion, or some sort of hologram!" Anabel shouted. "There's no way he just did what I think he did!"

"My dear Maiden, hasn't anyone ever told you you can do anything you put your mind to?"

"I don't think reversing the aging process was what they had in mind when they came up with that phrase." Anabel snapped back. "If you undo what you did and give Greta her youth back right now, I may forgive you, scum!"

"Is that what happened?" Abel asked. "I just figured the mist or whatever was just some kind of airborne miracle cream." He said naively.

"Your devotion to your friend is sweet, Salon Maiden. And it's nice to know the new guy won't be too much of an intellectual threat." He mocked once again.

"Minun!" Abel's best friend protested.

"You said it buddy. I have a brain, I just don't use it much. I can be smart if I want to."

"Cute. But maybe you shouldn't be worrying about poor Greta. Maybe your friend who's all alone needs your help. The next time you see him, he won't be the same boy as before."

"ASH!" They all shouted.

"You wouldn't." Serena threatened.

"Wouldn't I? Ta-ta!" He said saluting them off. "And to everlasting youth!" He cheered as the TV turned off.

"Someone has to go get Ash." Clemont said. "Preferably before someone else does."

"We'll go." Serena volunteered. "C'mon Pikachu!"

"Pika!" He agreed with fiery eyes.

"Uh uh. We need Pikachu to stay here. I've got a plan and I'll need his help." Anabel said. "Serena, you still have Charizard in your pocket, right?" To which Serena nodded.

"Good, take him and search for Ash from the sky." Clemont said.

Serena nodded as Pikachu's ears dropped. Serena reached to her shoulder and picked him off. She brought him towards her face and smiled at him. "Don't worry, you know I won't come back without him."

"Pika." He said sadly. Serena handed the little mouse over to Bonnie and ran out the door as fast as she could.

"What's your plan, Anabel?" Bonnie asked looking up at her. "And why wouldn't you let Pikachu go with Serena?"

"I've heard Ash talk about how he kept in touch with a few friends the past year. I don't know who he was talking about though." She said scratching her chin. "Pikachu knows, though." She said kneeling down so she was eye level with the rodent. "We're gonna need backup. Can you help me get in contact with his friends, Pikachu?" Anabel asked.

"Pikachu." He answered. He still didn't like the fact that he wasn't going with Serena, but he knew why he had to stay behind. He probably would've just slowed her down anyway.

"Great! I'll call Scott and see if the other Brains can help out. You go with Clemont and Bonnie and contact the others. I'll also make a call to the lovebirds and let them in on it too. I'll teleport anyone who's able to help here. Abel we should probably have you notify Sycamore and one of the local Jennies too. Got it? Go." She ordered.

XXXXXXXXXX

Ash was currently in one of the many parks located all around Kalos. This park was specifically dedicated to the different legendary pokemon. It was equipped with a Latias/Latios merry go round, a Rayquaza slide, and a jungle gym with statues of Xerneas, Yveltal, and Zygarde, placed around it.

Ash was shuffling his way down a dirt road kicking around the dirt on his way. 'How could I tie with him?' He thought. 'I'm supposed to save all of Kalos and I can't even beat a tool like him?'

He turned around and looked at the multiple kids playing around the playground. 'Look at them. Not a care in the world. No idea of what's to come. I remember that feeling, I miss it.' He thought to himself.

He turned around only to slam into another figure, knocking him to the ground.

"Sorry," He apologized looking up. "My bad..." He stuttered looking at the man in front of him.

"Deep in thought, are we?" The elderly man said offering his hand to help him up. "I must say you have changed quite a bit, haven't you?"

"Professor Oak?" Ash said in disbelief.


	9. Calling For Help

"Oak?!" Ash said in disbelief getting back to his feet. "What the hell are you doing here?" He snarled. "You've got a lot of nerve to come to me." He warned.

"My, my. You really shouldn't talk to people like that. Especially your elders." Oak shot back.

Ash took a few steps back. Wary of the man he once called 'professor'. "You're not very smart, are you? I should drop your ass here and now. You've done your damage, what do you want now?"

"My boy, I've come for you! My employer has quite the fascination with you, chosen one. You can come willingly or," He threw a pokeball into the air letting out a shiny Noctowl. "we can use force."

"Great, you brought the little chicken with you." He sneered at his former pokemon. "Thought I'd seen the last of you. Alright old man, I'm going to say this once, and only once. Don't call me 'chosen one', get that thing out of my sight, and leave before you regret it." He threatened.

"Don't talk to me in that tone, boy." Oak shot back. "Don't make me-"

"Don't make you what?" Ash taunted. "Shoot me like Pikachu, or just finish me like Gary!?"

"Don't bring him up! Do you think I wanted that to happen?!" He said as they both started sidestepping in a circle, ready to fight. "I dragged him out of that building! But he just had to go back in for some employee trapped inside. I told him he wouldn't make it! He said he had to try!" He said defending himself. "I truly cared for Gary! I didn't want him dead!"

"And yet you let him go alone!" Ash shot back. "Should I point out how uncaring that sounds!"

"I did go after him! But by the time I reached him, he was trapped under a beam! He shoved the lackey into my arms and told me to leave! I had no choice. If I stayed we both would've died!"

"Like I'd believe a word of that! I oughta-"

"Ash!" A voice called from above them. Above them, descending quickly was Charizard with Serena on his back. He landed forcefully on the ground, kicking up dust around him. Serena jumped off him immediately. "There you are! We have to-" She interrupted herself with a heavy gasp. "What the...what are you doing here?"

"Nice to see you too." Oak interrupted. "But if you'll excuse us, we have some business to attend to, little girl."

"Stay back, Serena!" Ash called back.

"No way! Charizard, are you with me?" The pseudo-dragon gave her a heavy nod.

"Hypnosis, full power!" Oak ordered. Noctowl obliged and hit Serena with his signature move causing her to fall over.

"Serena!" Ash called looking back behind him. Charizard retaliated quickly by firing a powerful Fire Blast at the owl, knocking it back into a tree and knocking the assailant out. Ash ignored Oak and quickly ran back to Serena. "Out cold." He deduced. "Watch her in case the traitor wakes up again." Charizard nodded before grunting a query. "Me? I'm going to take care of our friend, here." He said returning his attention to Oak. "We're gonna 1v1." He ordered. "If you win I'll come with you and meet with your boss or whatever. If I win you leave Kalos and never come back."

"Deal." Oak agreed. "Just keep your end when you lose." He taunted. "Come out, Dragonite!" He called letting out his strongest pokemon.

"To my side, Greninja!" Ash called letting out his strongest. "When I win, I'll finally have some closure." His and Greninja's eyes simultaneously glowed a deep red and a water vortex sprouted around them. The water then burst out in all different directions revealing Ash-Greninja.

"So I finally see Ash-Greninja in person. Only one person every ten thousand years." He observed. "Dragonite to the air! Use you flight to your advantage!" Oak ordered. The dragon nodded and sprung off the ground into the sky.

"Don't let him get too high. Duplicate yourself then hit him with your shuriken." Ash retaliated. With a cloud of smoke covering them Greninja split was able to safely make multiple copies of itself. When it cleared four Greninja stood where there was once only one. All four proceeded to rocket off the ground towards the Dragonite.

"Hyper Beam all four of them!" Oak ordered his dragon. Dragonite shot his most powerful blast from his mouth into the first of the clones making it poof out of existence then swept the blast straight into the remaining three. What was weird though was that instead of two of them disappearing and one taking damage, all three were taken out. Oak figured it out quickly but due to Hyper Beam's draining feature was unable to do anything. "Behind you!" He called.

Dragonite swung its head back to see the real Greninja rise up behind him.

"Hit him now!" Ash ordered his amphibian friend. Greninja pulled the shuriken from its back and slammed it straight into the dragon's head sending it flying into the ground below with a loud crash. "Aerial Ace while he's still recovering!"

With flash movements everywhere Greninja shot down into Dragonite's stomach with magnificent force.

"While he's still there! Focus Punch!" Oak called out. Without any of its normal chargeup a focus punch hit Greninja square in the chest sending him straight back into the air causing massive damage to both the dark type and Ash who felt a large pang of pain in his chest.

"Brace yourself!" Greninja spread out all his limbs as he glided down at a much slower and safer rate. "Good job, buddy." Ash called, not taking his hand off his chest.

"So it's true." Oak said. "You do share pain."

"Yeah. But no pain you could inflict on me in this battle could surpass the pain you caused me one year ago." Ash growled.

"Looks like throughout all your travels there was one skill you never honed, getting over it. Ancient history." Before him Greninja finally landed on the ground. "Ice beam Dragonite!"

"Cut through it Greninja!" As the beam of ice came closer and closer, Greninja shot forward with a newly formulated blade and just as it was about to hit him sliced through it send the blast two different ways away from him he continued forward and slamed the blade into the dragon's chest with an uppercut. "Now kick him back down!" Greninja used its extra strong legs to jump up to the dragon, did one flip, then used its full strength to slam its leg down on the dragon's head sending it back down.

"Send a twister up towards him!" On the way down Dragonite shot a small tornado straight at the vulnerable frog.

"Use the tree next to you!" Ash called. "Get out of the way!" Greninja manuvered itself towards the nearest tree and flipped itself so its feet were facing it. Connecting its feet to the tree, it pushed itself past the twister and past Drgonite and landed in front of its trainer. But not before sending another Water Shuriken down into the recovering pokemon.

"I'm surprised." Oak praised. "No Greninja's legs should be that strong."

"There's a lot you don't know about us." Ash snarled. "Like how much pain we can put you through." He said as his eyes began to glow a deep blue.

"It can't possibly hurt as much as having nearly all your pokemon turn on you. Remember no matter how much you hurt me, you'll never get your friends back, and I bet one day the rest will give up on you as well." He shot back.

Ash began to shake with even more rage than ever and by the power of their bond Greninja felt every ounce of rage as well. In the distance standing with a glowing hand was none ogther than the boss himself. He held his hand in front of him and forcefully clenched it into a fist

Back at the field Ash let out a loud scream with Greninja echoing him.

I know boss man said to push him as far as possible.' Oak thought to himself. 'But maybe that was a little too far.' Oak realized he needed to finish this fast. "Ice beam them Dragonite! Freeze him solid."

Still blinded by rage Greninja didn't even notice the attack seemingly even after it hit him. It had the desired effect for Oak. Greninja was currently frozen inside a block of ice.

"Go." Was all Ash said in response. Suddenly Greninja bursted out of the iceberg prison sending little chunks of ice everywhere.

"Give it your best Water Shuriken." Ash ordered. On Greninja's back the shuriken doubled its original size and Greninja quickly took a hold of it. He hurled it forward and before they knew what happened it had hit Dragonite. Though only partially hitting him it still had enough force to knock the pokemon out cold, but it didn't stop. In a flash the shuriken of water forcefully collided with the good professor. His eyes widened as he fell over on his chest.

Exhausted Ash fell to the ground bracing himself for impact on the ground with his hands. Greninja fell straight backwards, passed out from exhaustion. The aura from their fusion disappeared around them as did their bond phenomenon. From the bodies of Oak and Dragonite a middle-aged man walked past and came to a stop in front of Ash.

"Well that is unfortunate." The man said looking back. "Though not too much of a tragedy." He turned his attention back to Ash and offered his hand, "Need a hand, friend?"

Ash looked up to see the man smiling at him. He looked over to see Oak on the ground unmoving. "Who are you? What happened?"

"A friend. And I've been watching you for a long time Chosen." As soon as he finished he took on big step to the right just narrowly avoiding a sea of flames. Ash looked behind him to see his Charizard looking very angry at the mention of 'chosen', mouth flaming. "Please refrain from any more violence, my friend." He said calmly. "You won't hit me. You did quite a number on the old man, didn't you?"

Ash slowly got back to his feet. "Return Greninja." He said recalling his pokemon who was still passed out. He looked behind him and scanned the still unconscious Serena. "Thanks for watching her buddy. Get some rest." He ordered recalling Charizard as well. "What are you talking about? What'd I do?" Ash asked.

"Your shuriken didn't just hit Dragonite. It hit your friend too." He said. "I wouldn't want to be him right now."

"No. No, no, no, no." Ash panicked. "I have to call an ambulance for him." He said preparing his watch.

"Won't do you any good, he's long gone. That shuriken was a direct hit. No one you know will be able to help him now." The man said looking back.

"You mean I-" Ash started not taking his eyes off the body

"Killed him? Yes. But don't worry, I don't blame you."

"How? I don't remember anything."

"You have quite the anger problem. But it's not all your fault." He said with a warm smile. "He was very provocative, wasn't he?"

"What are you talking about?!" Ash practically screamed. "I just committed probably the worst crime you can commit! I'm no better than him now! What happened to me?" He said looking at his hands.

"Your evolution form exceled to such a high level of power, that you couldn't control it." He elaborated knowledgably. "Whatever your dominant emotion was took over completely."

Ash began to get tears in his eyes. "I just killed a man. Not beat, not crippled, killed." He cried. "What have I done? I need to talk to the professor, maybe we can revive him somehow." He panicked.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. The good professor would just turn you in to the authorities, where you'll face a one-sided trial that you'll lose. You'll never see your loved ones again and you'll die alone." He said smirking. "You need to come with me."

"He wouldn't turn me in! He'd help me find a way to fix this!" Ash argued

"I think not. He's at the top of the food chain around here. HE sees a criminal, he turns them in."

Ash thought about it. He was officially a criminal. It didn't seem right to run, but he didn't want to be locked away from the world and all his friends. "Who are you?" Ash asked "Why are you offering to shelter a criminal? I need to face what I've done. Oh, Arceus, what'll my friends think of me now?!"

'That's it. Keep going.' Unbeknownst to Ash his doubts were being manipulated. 'You're making this too easy.' The boss thought to himself. "They'll think you've gone over the deep end. They've been so patient with you. Your anger and resentment for those who have wronged you and your Pikachu has ruled over your life for the last year. So sad."

"Shut up." Ash growled.

"Everyone's got problems. Many of them much worse than yours. Even your pal Pikachu, who has it much worse than you, is over it. But you can't let the anger go. I can help you with that." He offered.

"Shut up! How do you know so much about my life! I've never even met you before!" Ash yelled. Behind him Serena began to stir.

"I've watched you from the day you were born, Chosen. The Indigo League? I was there. Battle Frontier? I was watching. And guess who was in the stands of the Kalos League. We were destined to meet today. I'd foreseen it. But enough of that. I need you, and you need me."

"Why do I need you? What I need is a way to undo what I've done!"

"I won't turn you in. I will help you control your anger. I can help you harness the power of your evolution. No one else has the kind of knowledge I do. Come with me and I will make sure this," He said pointing to Oak. "doesn't happen to someone you actually care about." He finished gesturing towards Serena. "I just want to help you." As Ash looked back at Serena and thought of the rest of his friends. Meanwhile the man was enhancing the doubts he was having inside through the power of aura.

"You can really help me?" Ash said not looking at him.

"Indeed. You needn't commit to my cause, or even pay me back." He lied. "I only wish to make Kalos a better place. And to do that, we need to get you under control."

"Or just lock me up." Ash added solemnly.

"No need for such harsh actions, I know you don't want to be locked in a cage and I don't want you to be either, besides once you have Ash-Greninja in your control, I'll help you with the Jennies, I can be very persuasive. We'll take Oak with us back to headquarters. There we might be able to help him."

"I thought you said no one could help him?!" Ash shot back.

"I said no one you know can help him. But I just might be able to." He promised offering his hand once again. Ash turned back to the man. "Do it." He ordered. "They won't take you back as long as he's dead."

Ash nodded and took his hand. "Serena comes too. And if I don't like what I see, I'll just leave and turn myself in."

"Deal." He smiled. "She won't be waking up for another 20 minutes though, you might want to just carry her." He said pointing to her. Ash complied and hoisted her up on his back resting her head on his shoulder, not even bothering asking how the man knew how long it would take for her to wake up.

"You never told me who you are." He pointed out. "And how do you know so much about the bond phenomenon?"

"I am the head of the Kalos Restoration Association or KRA. But you may call me Aaron, Chosen One."

"Call me Ash." He retorted annoyed. "I'm no Chosen One." The mysterious man just chuckled.

'That's what you think.' He thought to himself. "As for how I know so much, you're not the first to have this ability, many before you have had it too. But we must be going." He said slinging Oak over his shoulder. He grabbed Dragonite's pokeball and recalled him and placed the pokeball back in Oak's pcket. "This is a public place after all. Follow me."

~Somewhere in the Hoenn Region~

~The next day~

Inside a giant company building just inside the Hoenn border sat an old man in a nice suit typing rapidly on a computer stretching all around him. A bar to his left and a library to his right. Suddenly, the door behind him flew open and a purple jumpsuit clad woman stomped through the doorway.

"What have I told you two about taking liberties with the missions?!" The woman scolded looking behind her as two Weavile filed their way in. "I don't care how good of an idea it seems, never deviate from the plan! It's been 4 years since you became my partners and you still can't follow directions." She sighed.

"Vile." The one on the left sighed dejectedly.

"Just don't let it happen again or it's back to basic training for you two." She said before finally acknowledging the old man in front of her. "Banks, I'm back! For some reason the kidnappings in Unova have ceased. No one knows why, though."

"Yes Kidd, I'm very aware of the current state of things. How was your undercover mission? Not too boring I hope."

"Never a dull moment." She replied. "Anyways, I just came to say hello and tell you I'm leaving for Almia now, so see you in a month?" She said phrasing the last part as a question.

"Yes, about that. I gave that mission to TImothy." He replied swiveling his chair around to face her.

"What!? You know I've been looking forward to going to Almia for months! Why would you give away what would be my greatest achievement to that prick?! Of all people!" She ranted.

"You got a call a few hours ago, Kidd. Someone who claims to know your old friend, The one with the Pikachu. What was his name, again?" Banks said tapping his forehead in thought. "Abe?"

"Ash?! I haven't heard from him over half a year! Call him back immediately, on the big screen!" Kidd ordered Pointing to the room sized TV screen at the front of the room. Banks just nodded and began typing on his keyboard again. Kidd quickly recalled her pokemon and turned her attention back to the television.

Before them the TV lit up with the upper bodies of Clemont and Bonnie.

"You're not Ash." Kidd deadpanned.

"Uh, no. I'm his friend Clemont. And that's my little sister Bonnie." He explained to the agent. "I assume you are Kidd Summers?" He inquired.

"Yeah, but I only really called to speak with Ash." Kidd complained.

"Well Ash isn't here. But Pikachu is!"

"PIkachu!" The little mouse cried from offscreen. He made his way up Clemont's back and onto his shoulder with his prosthetics making noise with his movements. "Pika!" He said waving.

"Aww. It looks like you're doing better, huh Pikachu?" She asked. "Where's Ash, little guy?" She watched in pity as Pikachu's ears dropped at the mention of Ash.

"We don't exactly know." Bonnie answered for the mouse. "He left yesterday and hasn't come back." She said lowering her head in sadness. "Serena, either."

"Who? Oh, is that his obsessive girlfriend?" Kidd asked.

"Hey, she's not obsessive!" Bonnie defended. "She's just in love." She said changing her tone from an annoyed one to a mesmerized one.

"Uh huh. Well anyway it's nice to see you again Pikachu but I'm really busy, so if Ash isn't there then-"

"Wait!" Clemont interrupted. "We need your help. Ash needs your help."

"I'm listening, but you've got three minutes." Kidd said crossing her arms. "I might still have time to catch Timothy and beat him into giving me my mission back."

"We've got serious problems here in Kalos. Some evil mastermind has found a way to eternal youth! We're gonna need help to take him on!"

"Kalos is an awful long way away. Besides you've got Ash. The kid can handle an apocalypse on wheels." Kidd retorted.

"But the guy's going after Ash, too!" Bonnie said. "We think that's why he hasn't come back yet! He says he's behind all the kidnappings too!"

"Really? Is this true, Pikachu?" Kidd asked the rodent.

"Pika! Pika Pi! Pikachu!" The rodent ranted gesturing all over the place.

"All right. I suppose if it helps solve the case of the missing persons, then I'll still be doing my job, right Banks?"

"Why not?" He shrugged indifferently. "I stopped trying to tell you what to do years ago. Just come back alive. Though, I do wonder, why not call the authorities for help?"

"We tried!" Bonnie yelled. "They're all too busy investigating the kidnappings. It's all hands on deck here in Kalos. They couldn't even spare us one Jenny!"

"Good." Kidd answered. "Authorities would just get in my way. Jennies really cramp my style. I'm in."

"We'll send someone to pick you up immediately." Clemont said switching off his transmitter.

"Well, I'd better pack my bags." Kidd said.

"I'm not sure this is a good idea. You're storming the base of someone who's pulled off countless kidnappings and evaded the authorities while doing it." Banks cut in.

"Meh." She shrugged. "You did give away my Almia job."

~Slateport City Pokemon Center~

At the center of Slateport city stood the biggest Pokemon center in all of Hoenn. Inside this monumental building was a boy who was rather new to the whole 'pokemon trainer' scene. On a bed in room 120 lay a Plusle a Minun and their best friend and trainer, 14-year-old Tory, who was currently on the phone.

"And bring it to room 120, please. Thank you." He said putting the center phone back in its place. "Traveling's a lot more tiring than it looks, huh guys?" He sighed turning his head towards his two favorite pokemon who just nodded in agreement. "Still, two badges in two months of leaving home? Pretty good don't you think? And now look at us! Chilling out in a great hotel room with room service on the way!"

"Plu!" The first responded.

"Minun!" The second echoed.

The three turned their attention to the door to their room at the sound of rapid knocking. Tory jumped off the bed and made his way towards the door with Plusle and Minun following close behind.

"Room service really is fast here huh?" He said opening the door to reveal the center's Joy.

"Lund?" She inquired.

"Yep. I had the Center Special and a couple soups for my friends." He responded excitedly.

"I'm not room service. I'm here to tell you there's a call for you. They said to tell you it's important news from Ash Ketchum." She explained.

"No way! Where's the phone?!"

"You can actually just answer the phone in here. Dial extension two, Mr. Lund." She said pointing to his personal landline.

Tory jumped over his bed and landed in front of the nightstand holding his phone. He eagerly picked it up and pressed the button marked '2'.

"Ash, is that you?!" He asked practically jumping up and down. Normally he wouldn't get so worked up but he didn't have many friends. His fear of pokemon pretty much alienated him completely and even after befriending Plusle and Minun and choosing them as his partners, kids in LaRousse still didn't want anything to do with him and often made fun of him, causing him to develop quite a bad case of social anxiety. He still kept in touch with Rafe, Sid, and the others, but they were always too busy to talk. Sure, he had his pokemon but he still needed other humans to interact with. And now he was finally going to talk with Ash again.

"Sorry. My name is Anabel." A voice said from the other side. "I'm a friend of Ash's and I wanted to ask for your help. Some evil guy who calls himself 'The Boss' is targeting Ash. No one's heard from him in nearly 24 hours."

Tory thought for a second, before shaking his head. Not that Anabel could see it. Everyone in LaRousse knew he how much he wanted to see Ash again, to the point they'd prank him all the time. "Sorry, I don't think so. How do I know you're not some kid from LaRousse playing a prank on me again? Tell Ash to take the phone." Tory responded.

"He's not here." Anabel said carefully. "I've got Pikachu with me." She quickly added hoping to sway the boy.

"Pika!" Pikachu voice came through the phone.

"Sounds like Pikachu..." Tory replied. "Tell me something only Pikachu or a friend of Ash would know."

"Uhh..." Anabel stuttered before she noticed Pikachu was trying to tell him something. "I think Pikachu's trying to say something. Hold on." She took a moment to respond again and Tory assumed she was interpreting what Pikachu was saying. "Okay. When you were trying to wake Deoxys you were short on power so Pikachu and your pokemon had to add their electricity to awaken it. Does that sound right?" Anabel asked.

'Nobody was there except for us and Yuko.' Tory thought. "Yep, that checks out. Sorry, I get a lot of prank calls." He said rubbing the back of his head

"It's fine, but right now I..." She continued. "WE," She corrected. "need your help."

"What do you want from me?" Tory asked skeptically.

"We're putting together a team of people to help Ash take this maniac on. We're gonna need as much help as we can get, You in?" She asked.

"I'm not really a powerhouse, in fact I've only got three pokemon, but anything for Ash, I guess." He answered. "Hold on." He put his hand over the speaker and turned to his partners. "What do you guys think? Willing to put this whole traveling bit on hold for a bit? This is the guy who brought us together, you know."

"Plusle!" The first said.

"Minun!" The second echoed as the two began jumping up and down.

He nodded before turning his attention back to the phone. "I think that means we're in. Will Brock be there? May? Max?"

"Uhh...Max is here in Kalos somewhere. Don't really care where May is, but that's a story for a different time, and Brock's in Kanto with the other gym leaders and frontier brains investigating the kidnappings. I tried to get ahold of him, but he must be under radio silence or something."

"Oh. Well, at least we might get to see Max." He said sadly.

"I'll pick you up immediately."

~Victory Road – Kanto~

Team Rocket was seeking out more powerful pokemon for their next mission. Team Rocket was currently being outshined by whoever was behind these kidnappings across the main regions, and Giovanni wouldn't stand for it. The trio had just captured a very powerful Rhydon when they got a call from a familiar face with a long and drawn out explanation that, frankly, Jessie didn't care for. She was currently conversing with the scientist on her poketch.

"And what makes you think we'll help you, twerp?" Jessie said annoyed.

"We can still remember the pain the broken bones caused us from when you blasted us into the sky!" Meowth added.

"Give us one good reason!" James finished crossing his arms and looking away from the small screen.

"I'll do better." Clemont said. "I'll give you three! One, as of right now Team Rocket is in the shadow of this guy. As long as he's around, no one cares about what you guys are up to."

"So we'll let him eliminate you guys, and then go after him. That way you won't be around to meddle anymore." Meowth said tapping his foot in annoyance.

"Two, you won't be able to beat him, not without our help." Clemont added.

"Typical twerp." James sneered. "Unaware of how strong we are. We're much better than when you last saw us."

"Three," Clemont said ignoring him. "you're not heartless. It's not a coincidence that you haven't come after Pikachu and Ash in the last year or so. It's because, even you, Team Rocket, wouldn't stoop that low."

"Wrong again. Pikachu's just no longer of any use to us. With those prosthetics he'll never battle again." Jessie said, nose in the air. "Besides do you know how many hospital bills we have yet to pay off? All because you keep sending us flying without so much as a parachute."

Clemont thought maybe it was a good idea to play to their egos "I don't think so. You know how hurt Ash was after that day. And whether you'll admit it or not you felt bad for him. You've fought by us before. Remember Team Flare? Deep down, whether you like it or not, you've got good inside your hearts. You're just misguided in your adventures." Clemont finished.

The criminal trio changed attitudes almost immediately. With comical tears in their eyes they smiled goofily. "You think we're good people?" Meowth asked.

"No one ever thinks we're good!" James added as he started to cry anime style.

"Say it again!" Jessie begged.

'Oh jeez, maybe I layed it on too thick.' Clemont thought. "Just..." Clemont started slightly uncomfortable. "are you gonna help or not?"

"Of course!" Jessie exclaimed. "We're heroes after all!" She said pointing a finger to the sky triumphantly.

"That's not what I said, but whatever." Clemont said signing off. He just hoped he hadn't created a monster.

~Lumiose City~

Alain and Mairin sat inside a quaint café right inside the Magenta Plaza sipping their respective cappuccinos.

"You know, maybe you should tone down the battling just a tad." Mairin looking up from her drink and at Alain. "Everyone's so excited to battle the Kalos Champion and then you go and end the battle in one shot. You could at least give them a chance."

"Why bother?" He said looking back at her. "I'm not gonna waste their time if they can't win. No one's been able to come even close to beating me in over a year." He said clearly annoyed.

"You mean since Ash." Mairin added.

"No one has the same kind of flare as that kid. Then he went and got all depressing on me and lost that zing he had from the Kalos League. How am I supposed to get any better if no one even gives me a challenge?"

"Maybe you're too good." Mairin shot back with a smile. Chespie, atop her hat nodding.

"Maybe. What I wouldn't give for a good rumble." He said leaning on the table with his cheek rested in one hand. He began to feel vibrations come from his pocket. As soon as he realized it was his phone he pulled it out and answered it. "Hello." He said bored. Sure, hunting for mega stones was cool and having Mairin with him was always a delight, but the trainers around him were so inexperienced that there was never even a reason to use the stones. "Clemont?!" He asked shooting up. "Of course I'm not busy! What's up? Is Ash any better?" He asked with hope dripping in his voice. "What do you mean, missing?"

Mairin and Chespie just waited in anticipation knowing they wouldn't get any information until he hung up.

"He can do what now?" He asked out loud. "You're pullin my leg, Clemont. You're a man of logic, you know that's impossible. If you want to see me that bad you could just invite me over." He laughed. "You're not joking?" He said straightening out his face before sighing. "We'll be right there. No, we don't need a ride, we're in Lumiose. See ya in a few." He said hanging up.

"What's up, Alain?" Mairin finally got to ask. "Is Clemont alright?"

"He's fine. Ash is missing. Serena went after him and never came back. New bad guy. Something about immortality. Needs my help." He rattled off.

"Did you just say immortality?" Mairin asked. "How's that possible?"

"Don't know. But I guess I'll find out when we find this guy. I'd tell you not to come with, but you'd just follow me anyway." He said coolly, walking out the building. As soon as he got out Mairin realized something.

"Hey, Alain! You didn't pay!" She called

"Oh yeah." He called back turning around. "Don't have any cash on me! Spot me, will ya?" He said as he continued to walk away. Mairin let out a heavy sigh.

"If he's gonna make me pay for his food, he could at least call it a date." She mumbled.

~The other side of Lumiose City~

"So, will you help?" Abel asked. He, Max, and Jirachi were all sitting at a picnic table located all across Kalos, with kids playing all around them.

"I don't know, Abel." Max replied. "I got out of the whole 'saving the world' business years ago. The simple life suits me. Besides, you saw what happened when I'm around them. I'm just not welcome anymore." He said sadly.

"So what really happened between you two? Why didn't you side with Ash?" Abel inquired. "Serena said you had bad character, but I don't believe that for one second." He said with one of his rare tones of seriousness.

"I had just gotten my first pokemon, Treecko, the day before. They said they were going to try to get Ash to stay in Kanto. At first, I thought they had valid points. He seemed to just kind of forget about us after our travels together. Misty, May, and Dawn had to seek him out, not the other way around. They also pointed out he was a danger to himself, I mean he jumped off a building! Yeah it was for Pikachu, and I'm glad they both came out safe, but you can't deny that he could've killed himself not to mention how every major villain in the world seems to have it out for him and anyone he travels with by extension. But then I thought of all he had accomplished across his journeys, and figured the world needed a trainer like him."

"But this was back when he was happy-go-lucky, right?" Abel inquired.

"Yeah. As soon as I voiced my concerns with the plan to the professor, Oak said something about an employer and how he needed as many people against Ash as possible. He had already had May take Ambipom from Dawn for what he claimed was 'insurance'. He threatened to take Treecko away from me." Max said sadly. "I couldn't let that happen. He was my partner. So, I said I'd go along with it as long as I could keep Treecko."

'They tried to take your pokemon?' Jirachi asked floating midair. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to be out in the open with a supposed 'mythical' pokemon, but he wanted to hear Max's story for himself. Max nodded. 'I understand. So why wait so long to tell him. You got away from Oak with your Treecko, right?' The pokemon asked.

"What was I supposed to say? I dug that grave and I figured it was time to lay in it. And who knows? If I was manipulated maybe the others were as well. It was just so out of character for May to act like that. But as soon as Pikachu was shot, I knew it was over for us." Max replied. "But deep down I wanted to try."

"Why wait a year, though?" Abel asked. "If you came forward sooner..." He trailed off.

"I tried contacting Brock. I thought if I tried talking to Ash head on it wouldn't work. So I thought to start with Brock. I thought if I could just get him to listen to my side, we could talk to Ash together. Maybe not the best idea, but it was all I had. When I tried to get to him, though, he always ignored me. Phone calls, video calls, letters, nothing worked. I knew if I couldn't even get to Brock I had no chance with Ash. So I thought maybe give him some time. I promised myself after my trip around Hoenn, that I would at least try. But now it's too late."

"Maybe. But is that any reason not to try again?" Abel asked. "If you give up, then you let Oak win. He hoped to drive a wedge between you two and if you stop trying then he did it. Is that what you want?" He reasoned.

"But it takes two to mend a broken friendship! I may be willing to try, but Ash just isn't having it. I think it's best if I just let you guys take this one. If I were there, Ash would probably just kick me right back out thinking I'm in league with this guy."

'That's not true.' Jirachi objected. 'I'm sure Ash would be glad you came to help.' He said floating closer to Max. 'Even if he won't admit it.'

"I can't force you to help. But I can tell you, if you want him to forgive you, helping him in his fight to save Kalos just might be the way to go. He wouldn't listen to me either, but I'm still trying to befriend him because if he's everything you and his friends claim him to be then he's worth it. Don't you think?" Abel finished standing up. "So, you coming?" He said offering his hand.


	10. Arrival At the Base

~North of Laverre City~

Ash and Serena, still unconscious on his back, stood in front of a huge factory with his new 'friend' Aaron and the now late Professor Oak slung over the man's shoulder. Ash was just glad he had brought some of his pokemon with him on his walk. He knew he told Pikachu he wanted alone time and he did, but he never went anywhere without at least three pokemon on hand, and thanks to Serena he had Charizard with him too.

"The Pokeball Factory?" Ash inquired. "THIS is your base of operations? How?"

"The owner of the place happened to go to my old school. We worked out a deal, He lets me use his factory for my base of operations and I let him join our ranks. He's been very quintessential to helping with our plans." Aaron explained.

"Hiding out in a factory in secret? Doesn't really shout 'We're here to help.', does it?" Ash shot him a glare. "Remember what I said? If I don't like what I see-"

"I admit it does seem shady." The older man cut him off. "We aren't your typical do gooders. In fact, as far as the government's concerned we are 'terrorists'." He said quoting with his fingers. "But then again, neither are you and your friends."

"What?"

"Always running ahead. Taking care of things yourselves, no Jennies, no Joys, just you and your friends. And look at that, you've saved a total of six regions. I think you would agree sometimes going rogue is necessary." He said with a knowing smile. "It's not like Officer Jenny and her trust Growlithe were going to come to the rescue everyone and defeat Lysandre."

"I guess." Ash replied.

"Now shall we?" He said. He proceeded to walk to the keypad to the right of the door and covered his hand as he punched in the four-digit pass. Loudly and slowly the doors opened.

"I don't remember this place having a lock like that." Ash said.

"It helps to have friends who are mechanics. Your training begins now. Lesson 1: Always make sure to have friends in high places." He said leading him inside.

"Hey! You're teaching me to tame my bond phenomenon, not life lessons." Ash shot back. "I don't need any tips on life."

"Still hesitant on trusting me I see. Very well. We shall focus only on you and your Greninja from now on." He said complacently. "But first we need to get these two to the infirmary. My friends will take care of things from there. Can't train while you're playing hero." He said pointing to Serena. Once inside they were met with a new face.

"Sir. You're back!" A man said running up to him. "Aipom and I just checked on the-" He stopped when he noticed Ash. "Oh, it's you Chosen." He said. "My name is Kane and I look forward to working with you. If you'd like-"

"Hold up." Ash said stopping him mid-sentence. "I'm not working with anybody but this guy." He said pointing to Aaron. "And don't call me Chosen, or The Chosen, or Chosen One, it's Ash. I'm sick of people assuming I'm put on this world to help them."

"You'll have to forgive Kane, he's a bit of a keener, but he has some work to do elsewhere doesn't he?" The man said glaring at the young adult.

"Uh, yes sir. I'll go check with the scientists on their progress." He said saluting. "Come on Aipom."

"Pom." The little guy said sadly. The two left with haste and were soon out of sight.

"I see you've told your employees about me." He glared.

"Of course, I told them!" He responded happily. "They of course wanted to know why we were studying something as obscure as a bond phenomenon when none of us could achieve such a feat. And people do not remain loyal if they are kept out of the loop, you know. If he rubbed you the wrong way, I must apologize. We must get going, though."

He led Ash down multiple corridors and past countless doors. It looked like they had cleared out most of the equipment that would be used to make pokeballs save for all the conveyor belts which instead of carrying supplies for pokeballs, was transporting some indescribable junk into separate rooms.

'Wish Clemont were here. He could probably tell me what all this stuff is.' He said looking around. "I thought you said you were _using_ the factory, not remodeling it." Ash asked. "Does this place even make pokeballs anymore."

"It does. Just not as many. Here we are. The infirmary." He said stopping in front of a door. To both sides of the door were giant rectangular windows showing the inside of the room, which was filled with hospital like beds and several people dressed in white coats. Aaron shoved the door open and gestured for Ash to go in.

"My friends, this is Ash. His friend Serena has been hit with a nasty hypnosis and we need to make sure that powerful attack didn't give her any nasty side effects. You can lay her down on that bed, Ash." He said pointing to the closest bed to the left.

"Isn't she that up and coming performer?" One of the scientists asked.

"Yep." Ash replled setting her on the bed gently. "Which is why you're going to take extra care with her. If she has any lingering effects I want them gone before you do anything with the old man."

"And this is Professor Oak. We need to try that new revival serum on him." The boss ordered setting the late professor on the closest bed to the right.

"Um, sir? The serum has a few ever-existing kinks and we still haven't tested it. Surely-" The first scientist started.

"You need a test subject, you got one. He doesn't have enough time for you to muck around with your project any longer. Will it turn him into a zombie?"

"No, that's scientifically impossible." The second scientist noted.

"Then screw the kinks, give him the serum! I'll give you two extra hours to perfect the formula, then no matter what problems you have with it give him the serum. The longer we wait the less chance it has of working." He ordered. "And you," He said pointing to the one remaining scientist. "Do as the boy says. Test this poor girl for any effects from the hypnosis. Fever, loss of memory, anything. Ash and I have training to do." He said turning to leave. As he stepped out, however, Ash grabbed his wrist.

"Where are you going?" Ash asked.

"I am taking you to the indoor battlefield." The man replied.

Ash shook his head. "I'm not leaving Serena here with three men I don't know and an amoral, conniving, asshole professor we intend on reviving. That'd be stupid." He said clearly annoyed with the situation.

Aaron was about to respond when he heard something go off in his ear. He brought his finger up to his ear and tapped the hidden headphone lodged within. "Yes." He said. He looked back at Ash. "Excuse me for a second." He said slipping out of the room. "This better be good Kane."

'Yes sir. Professor Kuru just told me to notify you that the 'insurance' you ordered has arrived.'

"Good." The man replied happily. He looked over his shoulder to make sure Ash was still preoccupied with the wellbeing of Serena. "Have my guards take the man to the lower levels." He ordered in a whisper. "Once there lock down the entire level, code white. Only I am to go down there. Send a memo to all current employees instructing them not to interact with the Chosen unless absolutely necessary. Anyone who breaks those rules will not only be fired but will have a nice stasis tube built especially for them. Understood?"

'Yes sir. I will get to typing it up right away.' He said hanging up. The boss slipped back into the room and faced Ash once again. "Sorry, malfunction in the labs. Had to walk them through the manual resets." He said smiling. "Now I understand you're worried for your friend here, but I assure you theses three are more than capable-"

Ash didn't even care to hear the rest. He reached deep into his pockets and pulled out two shiny spheres. "Charizard! Noivern!" He called hitting the little button on the front of the balls. When the light faded he was faced with his two loyal dragon pokemon. "I feel like I seem to ask this of you guys a lot lately, but I need you to watch over Serena while I'm training."

Both dragons began screeching with inquiry.

"I know you guys are confused." He said trying to calm them down. "But the man's told me he's going to help me with Ash-Greninja. I don't exactly trust him, but didn't really have another choice. Just make sure Tweedle-dee, Tweedle-dumb, and Tweedle-idiot don't pull anything in my absence, I'm sure Serena will be up before Oak gets revived so once she's up, just stay by her side. Got it?" The two nodded in response. "Great I'm leaving your pokeballs on the bed with Serena."

"If this is the only way, I suppose it's not that big of a deal." The boss said. "We must get to training though. We have much work to do."

"Don't get your knickers in a twist, I'm comin'" Ash groaned. He began to follow the older man before coming to a stop once more and switching his gaze back to his dragon. "Oh, and Charizard." The fire dragon's head turned toward Ash quickly. "Don't do anything to Oak. We're in deep enough as is." Ash ordered turning back to his elder. Charizard let out a huff of smoke through its nostrils and gave a long growl.

"No, you won't." Ash called not even looking behind him as he walked off.

~Sycamore's Corral~

The corral was currently occupied by a diverse set of people from all across the globe. Of course, at the front door of the canal was Clemont and Anabel overlooking everyone they had brought together. Bonnie was running around somewhere as well.

Kidd Summers. A tall, jumpsuit clad, wild haired, free Agent of Hoenn and world record holder of the most world records. A woman of many talents as one would guess. Sports, Academics, life-threatening missions, she does it all. Standing with her were her loyal Weavile.

Alain. Champion of Kalos, Champion of Charizards and local heartthrob. Also, one of the only people to go head to head with Ash Greninja and win. Recently back from his stone hunting with his best friend. Speaking of which...

Mairin. Alain's best friend. Armed only with her Chespie, it's clear to everyone she's not much of a brawler. But she was there, and that's what mattered.

Trip. The Unova rival himself. Once a sworn enemy of Ash, he softened up on the boy during the Unova League a couple years ago but had never seen or heard from Ash since. He had always figured that Ash had been too busy traveling to talk to him.

Molly Hale. Not the little girl Ash once knew. Molly now stood at a reasonable height for an eleven-year-old in the exact same blue and white dress and white stockings as the one she wore in her imagination battle with Misty. After the death of her father Spencer she set out on her own pokemon journey, before being contacted by some blonde boy she'd never seen before telling her to come to Kalos to save Ash Ketchum.

Miette. Serena's original love rival. Though more of an antagonizer than a true rival, Miette was more or less the same girl she was the last time Serena saw her, which admittedly wasn't long ago. The second Clemont told her Serena and Ash had gone missing she dropped the phone and came running.

Tory Lund. The Pokephobiac turned traveler. In no small part due to Ash's signature meddling. In no way was he a powerhouse but for the boy who not only helped him face his fears but brought him closer to his two best friends in the world, he'd do anything.

Team Rocket. The infamous trio of frenemies, Jessie, James, and Meowth. They had been Ash's personal stalkers for most of his journeying life in an attempt to take away his Pikachu. Though they had help stop crazed maniacs on a world conquest before, if not just to ensure they get to be the world's conquerors. Not exactly what you would call heroes but beggars can't be choosers.

Ritchie. The Ash clone. Blessed with the incredible ability to catch the same pokemon species as Ash without even knowing it, Ritchie is a very, very, old friend of Ash's who was currently reminiscing with the crippled Pikachu along with his very own Pikachu, Sparky.

Bianca. The Latias Whisperer. All the way from Alto Mare came the only girl to know of the sanctuary made for the local Latias and Latios. She, like many others, hadn't heard from Ash in quite some time but didn't need much convincing to come and help. Unfortunately, when she went to try and recruit Latias to their cause, she was nowhere to be seen. It was like she knew Bianca was coming and was avoiding her.

Clembot. Clemont's Gym Leader robot double. Built specifically for use at the Lumiose Tower, Clemont had to add a few new features and adjustments to the droid before bringing it over. If all goes as planned it'll be like Clemont is in two places at once.

Max. The traitor? He was there on what was dubbed by Clemont as 'Day 1' and only really came in reluctance. He had pretty much given up hope of reconciling with Ash, but when Jirachi asks for your help, it's hard to say no. And...

Abel. The new kid on the block and keeper of the Wishmaker. Abel was fully aware that he and Ash weren't friends and recognized that there was a chance they might never be but Jirachi liked Ash and Abel didn't want some guy with eternal youth ruling Kalos, so he figured he might as well help.

Everyone had no idea what to do so at the moment they were just acquainting themselves with each other. To be honest Clemont hadn't worked out the whole plan yet either.

"So this is it?" Anabel asked turning her head to Clemont. "Not much to work with huh?"

"No." Clemont replied. "But it's the best we got. If this guy does have Ash and Serena, and considering we still haven't heard anything from either of them, I think he does, we can't waste any more time."

"What about Dawn and Paul?"

Clemont shook his head. "Bonnie and I tried to get ahold of them again, but they still wouldn't pick up." Clemont sighed. "At this point we may have to entertain the possibility that the mad man has them too." He said sadly.

"And Brock?" She prodded again. Clemont just shook his head again in response.

"Excuse me," A voice said snapping them out of their conversation. They turned to see little Molly glaring at them. "Are you going to tell us what the plan is yet? And where is everyone else? Brock? Misty? Mrs. Ketchum?"

Clemont gently leaned towards Anabel. "You didn't tell her?" Clemont asked.

"She said she was like a mother to her." Anabel whispered back. "What in Arceus' name was I supposed to tell her? You should tell her!"

"I'm not doin' it!" He shot back.

"Excuse me, it's very rude to have a separate conversation in front of a guest." Molly said tapping her foot impatiently.

"Sorry kid." Clemont said. "Attention Everyone!" He called, his voice echoing back towards the other guests. Everyone turned their attention to Clemont and Anabel. Pikachu began making his way back to the front of the room. Pikachu reached the right foot of Anabel and came to a stop, turning himself back around to face everyone.

"As I mentioned before, Ash has gone missing." Clemont announced. "You're here because under Ash's bed he kept a list of names of extra contacts in case of an emergency and your names are all on it." Truthfully Jessie, James, and Meowth weren't on it, but they needed all the help they could get. "I'm sure you're all aware of the kidnappings taking place across the main six regions and recently smaller regions such as Almia and Oblivia?"

"Uh yeah." Jessie replied snobbishly. "Kinda hard to miss a worldwide kidnapping phenomenon. There isn't a single person on this planet who hasn't been notified of this."

"Nice to see you've kept your attitude over the year, Jessie." Clemont deadpanned. "The brains behind it all recently contacted us to tell us he was going after Ash." He held out his hand in expectation and Anabel handed him his portable tablet. After a few buttons and sequences, he pointed the screen towards the guests. On the screen was the boss man himself, Aaron. "This is the man responsible for everything."

"Doesn't look dangerous." Tory noted.

"I agree." Trip said. "I've taken down guys ten times his size without my pokemon. You sure you're not wasting my time by having me here?"

"Positive." Clemont shot back. "What I'm about to show you is unedited footage from our face-time with him shortly after Ash left for his 'walk'." Clemont reversed the screen back towards himself and pushed a few more buttons. "This is what he plans on doing with the innocent men and women he's captured."

Everyone watched in horror as Clemont showed them the footage of Greta being drained of her youth.

"What is he doing?!" Molly cried cringing and covering her eyes.

"You weren't kidding." Alain said in disbelief. "This guy is immortal."

"Not exactly." Clemont said. With the clip ending he handed the tablet back to Anabel. "He steals youth from others and gives it to himself."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! So, this guy can, like, make me all wrinkly and whatnot?!" Jessie exclaimed feeling her face as if she were searching for wrinkles, "No one told us there would be real danger!" Jessie exclaimed in panic.

"We've gotta get outta dodge fast!" Meowth yelled.

"Your part of an opposing evil team." Bonnie said popping up next to them. "They'll just come after you next. You might as well help us."

"Stealing youth, huh? A nice trick." Kidd said tapping her chin. "But those hostages he has are also his weakness, aren't they!?" She deduced.

"Exactly." Anabel cut in. "While he can steal youth of his captives, we figure without them to use as an infinite power source, he's completely powerless." Anabel finished. "From what he told us I can only assume he seeks to corrupt Ash and have him join them."

"Another smart move." Max added tapping his chin. "Not a single organization has succeeded in defeating Ash. But as far as I know none of them ever thought of having him join them."

"But I won't let that happen." Anabel said with fire in her eyes. "We're going to get Ash back before he does anything he's going to regret. Even if I have to drag him out by the ear." She said slamming her fist into her palm.

"You mean WE won't let that happen." Clemont corrected "Right, Pikachu?" He looked down at the little rodent.

"Pika." He pumped his fist in the air.

"But if the fool takes the bait," Trip started. "Not only will the bad guys not have to deal with him, but he'll be pitted against us as well. If anyone could take all of us on and win, it'd be Ash."

"You don't really think Ash would join the dark side, do you? And what do you mean, fool!? Aren't you supposed to be his friend?" Tory glared.

"I wouldn't say friend. I was never one for those, I'd say we're closer to respected colleagues. And due to my vision not being blinded by friendship, I can say that the guy has never been the brightest or hardest to fool. All Team Rocket needed to do was put on glasses and Ash didn't know who they were!"

"That's true. Costumes for all three of us that cost a total of 15 pokedollars, and he was duped." James concurred happily.

"You can fool the brain but you can fool the spirit." Bianca cut in. "And it was Ash's spirit that always helped him persevere in the end."

"You may not be able to fool it," Alain started. "but you can certainly crush a spirit."

Ritchie scoffed. Were they all talking about the same Ash? "As if anyone could break his spirit."

"Oak seemed to do a pretty good job." Kidd muttered under her breath. No one seemed to take notice of it, and Kidd didn't think it wise to say it twice.

"You're all missing the point." Clemont said trying to regain control. "The real reason we need to get Ash back isn't because this man can have Ash join him or that this guy could make us face him, it's because it's Ash!"

"Each of you has been touched by Ash at some point in your life in some way. Whether it be inspiration, friendship, competition...love. We all share some form of affection for Ash and after all he's done for us, I say it's time we pay him back!" Anabel cheered pumping her own fist in the air. "Are you gonna help, or are Clemont, Bonnie, Pikachu, and I gonna have to go in alone?"

"But we don't even know where he is!" Molly cut in. "How can we save Ash when we don't know where the hideout for this guy is located."

"Actually, we do know where they are." Clemont said reaching into his front jumpsuit pocket. He pulled out a folded piece of printer paper. "On this piece of paper is a screenshot from the video call I showed you earlier. After he hung up I extracted the recording from the memory of the system and analyzed it for clues." He unfolded it quickly and showed to everyone. The picture was of Aaron in the front of the shot and a huge red circle to the left of him, drawing attention to a bust of a pillar with a masterball on top of it. "This bust that I circled," He said pointing to the monument. "is indicative of the pokeball factory in Laverre City. These busts are specially made just for these factories."

"Ha! Looks like someone didn't cross their I's and dot their T's" Abel exclaimed. "They gave away their location!"

"I don't think so." Clemont said rubbing his chin. "This guy's smart. Too smart to overlook something as big as this."

"What are you saying?" Abel tilted his head.

"This wasn't a mistake." Clemont said referring to the photo. "It's an invitation. He wanted us to see the bust. He wants us to come to him."

"Which means," Trip interrupted. "He's got a trap waiting for us."

"More than one probably." Anabel added. "But the point still stands. I'm leaving. Who's with me?"

"I suppose." Jessie sighed.

"We do owe him." James said.

"Meowth that's right!" Everyone else began giving their different forms of consent.

"What's the plan?" Ritchie said determinedly.

"I need three strong volunteers." Anabel explained.

"Me." Ritchie said immediately raising his hand high.

"I'm obviously the strongest here." Trip said raising his hand weakly.

"And me too." Kidd said joining them.

"Good." Anabel nodded. "Everyone but me, Kidd, Ritchie, Trip, Clemont, and Bonnie. will be the diversion. As we said there will probably be a trap. It's up to all of you to hold off any guards and keep the attention on yourselves."

"Hog all the attention?!" Jessie and James asked excitedly.

"You folks couldn't have picked better candidates!" Meowth said rubbing his front paws together.

"Good, and while you are holding off the guards and being generally a nuisance, Trip, Kidd, Ritchie, and I will sneak into the factory and find Serena and Ash. If we run into any resistance, it'll be up to the three volunteers to deal with it. Once inside I'll hand Ash a bag containing all of his pokemon he left back here at the corral." She explained pointing to a duffle bag to her left. The same duffle bag Gary gave Ash on Day 1. "Ash'll take his pokemon, beat the bad guy, I'll smack Serena for not bringing him back like she said she would, we'll get the hell out. Meanwhile Clemont and Bonnie will find where the abductees are being held and release them. Originally, I had Dawn and Paul set to do that part but they're not here so whatever." She said slightly annoyed.

"At least one of us has to be part of the diversion." Clemont said. "If you or I aren't there he'll see right through it."

"But you're the most tech-savvy person here!" Anabel argued. "And as if I'd let anyone else take charge in the search for Ash!"

"That's where I come in!" A voice said from behind them. They both turned to see Professor Sycamore standing at the doorway to the corral with a clipboard under his arm. "I will take Clemont's place!"

"Professor!" Bonnie yelled. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely. I studied the footage and I have a pretty good idea on how the tubes are operating. They seem to be drawing energy from an alternate source from within the factory. Meaning they don't have any innate power. Cut the external power source and the stasis tubes become just normal tubes!"

"But if they're generating the power necessary for an aura transaction, that should only really work in theory, shouldn't it be giving off major signals no matter where it is? How has no one picked up on this?" Clemont asked.

"I've seen this before." Kidd interrupted. "They must be using Trick Room. It's basically an interdimensional room. No sensor invented could detect a power source from within a Trick Room. It's a nasty setback for many investigators worldwide to the point where they're beginning to consider outlawing the move altogether. It does have one weakness, though." She said.

"What's that?" Bonnie asked.

"While it is undetectable for machines, it's not hard to spot for living beings. As long as you're paying attention you should be able to tell which room is the Trick Room. There'll be pink squares flashing all over the walls, if you see that, you've found the spot."

"Excellent." Clemont said. "Change in plans. Anabel, grab the duffle bag and take Kidd and Ritchie and find Ash and Serena! Professor, find the power source and destroy it. Take Trip and Tory as some backup. Mairin, Alain, Miette, Molly, Abel, Max, Bianca, Team Rocket, Clembot, and Bonnie,"

"We're gonna raise hell!" Bonnie yelled jumping in the air. She turned to see her brother glaring at her. She shrugged. "It always sounded cool when Ash says it." She smiled innocently.

"Sometimes I curse the fact that you're twice as aware of things as every other seven-year-old." Clemont sighed.

~Laverre Pokeball Factory Indoor Battlefield~

Ash, Greninja, and Aaron stood in the middle of the indoor battlefield. Ash was currently synced with Greninja, the water veil surrounding both of them, and Aaron was circling around them observing.

"Good. Now, I want to try an exercise. I want you to take a nice trip down memory lane." He instructed. "Think back to the day your anger stems from. The day your friends betrayed you."

Ash face turned into a cringe. Around them the water veil burst into a significantly larger radius.

"Easy, Ash." He said smoothly. "If you can't control yourself standing in one place, you'll never be able to while in the heat of battle." He soothed. "Focus on those memories, but don't become completely fixated. Let it fuel you, but don't let it control you. It's all about control." He finished. The veil of water began to die down a little. "Time for level two. Think about poor, poor, Pikachu."

Ash's eyes shot open and the veil began to grow larger again.

"Poor Pikachu. Never to battle again because he saved you from what were supposed to be your friends. Think about it, if you had left five seconds earlier or had flown one foot to the left, Pikachu would still be in top form."

The anger became clearly visible on Ash's face. 'Control.' He thought to himself. 'Control.'

"And now here you are, one year later, helping the very man who put a bullet in poor Pikachu's spine back to life. Does he really deserve it?" He inquired evilly. "And are you really honoring the sacrifice poor Pikachu made if you help this man? What does that say of your friendship?"

"That's it! Water Shuriken him!" Ash ordered pointing at the man. Fueled by the same rage Greninja reached for the Shuriken on its back.

"Easy." Aaron ordered holding up his hands in surrender. "You both need to calm down! It's happening again!" He ordered.

Ash began breathing heavily in rage. "Don't tell me what to do." He said dangerously.

"You need to listen. Do as I say. Deep breaths. You and Pikachu are the best of friends, I can see that, but I needed to enrage you." He soothed. "Don't let the anger win."

Ash began to do as instructed and took several deep breaths as both the water around him and his anger died down. "Sorry. This is harder than I thought it would be."

"Indeed. Though this is necessary if we are to get you under control. It seems you were doing fine until I brought up Pikachu." He noted. "That's enough for now, any more and the stress could become too much but I think I found your biggest weak point."

"I guess so." Ash replied returning Greninja. "You know, I never really thanked you for this. I know I acted a little cold earlier and I'm sorry. If this works, I'll definitely owe you one." Ash said smiling at the man.

"If you insist." He smiled back at him. "But I'm sure I won't ask too much of you. And don't worry, as long as we make good progress, we'll be done by tomorrow and we'll get you home ASAP."

"Thanks." Then realization dawned on Ash and he became slightly panicked. "Do you have a phone I could use? I never let anyone know why I never came home! I should call the Professor and let him know I'm okay."

"Of course." Aaron replied tossing him a phone. "But I must request you do not tell them anything of my organization's innerworkings that I have shown you. Can't have anyone infiltrating us."

"They wouldn't do that, but if it makes you feel better...I guess I can do that." Ash replied typing on the phone. "Darn no reception."

"Calls do not work here, but you may text them if you wish." He informed the boy. Ash began typing on the phone again.

"Done." He declared throwing the phone back to Aaron, "Let me know if they text back."

"Of course, my boy." He said with a smirk, pocketing the phone. "What do you say we go check on your friend? No doubt she's awake by now." Ash nodded.

~The infirmary~

Charizard lay at the foot of the bed curled in a ball taking a nap with Noivern taking his turn on watchout. The three scientists were currently injecting Oak with the revised version of the revival serum.

"Now we play the waiting game." The first scientist said.

Serena's eyes slowly opened an she slowly came into consciousness. She used her lower arms to support herself as she hoisted herself up on the bed. "Where am I?"

Charizard's head lifted up above the bed and his eyes met Serena's.

"Charizard?" She looked to her left. "Noivern?" Noivern shot forward and began rubbing up against Serena. She took his head into her hands. "Hey there, big guy. It's good to see you too!" She laughed pushing him off of her. "Where are we?" She looked to see three men in lab coats staring at her. "And who are you guys?" Then she noticed Oak on the bed across from her and the memories came flooding back. "Where's Ash?! Is he okay?!" She asked turning to Charizard. "Oak didn't hurt him, did he?!"

"On the contrary. Quite the opposite, actually." The shortest scientist answered. "It seems that the boy killed the good Professor here."

She turned her attention back to Oak and his unmoving body. "I need to find Ash."

"Do we tell The Boss she's up?" The shortest scientist asked one of the others. "He might not want her to leave."

"The boss? Who's your boss?" She asked tilting her head.

The shortest scientist shrugged. "Not many people know his name, he just told us to call him 'The Boss'." He answered. One of the other scientists elbowed him.

"Shut up, Orvis!"

"Oh no." Serena said remembering the video call. "Charizard, Noivern, we gotta find Ash, fast."

"Hold on." The scientist who was apparently named Orvis said. "We have to clear your departure with our boss first."

"Charizard." She said turning to the dragon. Charizard nodded and fired a flamethrower at Orvis, lighting his coat tail on fire.

"Ah!" He grabbed a beaker of liquids and doused his lab coat.

"Now," She said crossing her arms. "Which way'd my friend go?" She asked glaring at them.

Orvis started sweating. "Um...we don't know?" He said nervously.

Serena turned back to Charizard. "Again." She ordered. Charizard fired another flamethrower at Orvis lighting his coat on fire again while the other two dove out of the way.

"Stop that!" He ordered throwing another beaker of liquids on his coat. "I only have so many test tubes!"

"Then answer honestly." She said unamused...okay she was slightly amused at watching the lackeys of this mad man panic, but she didn't have time to focus on that.

"The indoor battlefield." Orvis said shivering in fear. "One level up."

"Thank you." She said changing her face from an angry one to a face with a sweet smile. "But before I go..." She said rushing over to Oak's bed. She looked down at the supposedly dead man and scowled. The three scientists watched in amazement as what was supposed to be a contender for next Kalos Queen spit in the good professor's face. She let out a sigh of relief "That's better." She declared. She returned her two 'guardians' and ran out the door.

"You just let a prissy, 15-year-old girl tell you what to do." One of the other scientists said in amusement from the floor.

"Shut up. What are you, five?"


	11. Serena's Amnesia

Inside the remodeled pokeball factory Ash and Aaron approached the entrance to the infirmary that was supposed to be housing Serena.

"Really?" Ash asked as they continued walking. "Meloetta? Around here?"

"Yes, it's been watching us for some time. It zips in and out of the perimeter every 12 hours or so, I swear." He chuckled opening the door.

"I thought she'd just stay in Unova for-" He was cut off when he looked forward and saw no Serena in the bed she was left in. "What!?" He doubled over the room quickly. "Where's Serena and my pokemon?!" His eyes landed on a very nervous Orvis, whose eyes were darting all over the room. He stomped ahead and looked the man straight in the eye. "What did you do to them?" He asked glaring.

"Nothing! Honest!" He yelled in defense/horror.

"Relax Orvis. He's just a stupid kid, it's not like he can hurt you." One of the other scientists laughed. "You're so frail."

"I don't want to hurt you." Ash shot back. "That's not my style, but as you can see," He said averting his gaze to Oak. "if you make me too mad, bad things can happen. Until I can control myself, I suggest you cooperate."

"Is that a threat, little man? You don't scare me. I've got more than enough experience to take you and your insignificant Greninja on in battle."

"Khan!" The boss snapped. "I suggest you treat Ash with more respect." He said dangerously. "This young man is my honored guest, and shall be treated as such. Now where is his friend and the pokemon?" He asked.

"The girl woke up, attacked us, and ran off!" Orvis said. "I told her we should've cleared her departure with you but she wouldn't listen! She had the Charizard light me on fire twice!"

"Why didn't you just tell her I'd be right back?" Ash asked angrily narrowing his eyes. "She was probably just scared and something tells me you guys don't have much of a calming effect on people."

"Ash." Aaron interrupted. "I must insist you clean up your attitude with my employees. On the other hand, Ash is right. Did you not try reasoning with her? Why would she just run away instead of wait?" He asked raising his eyebrows. 'Perhaps my scientists said too much.' He thought.

"Well I've got to find her." Ash said pivoting himself back towards the door. The boss extended his arm out in front of Ash stopping him mid step.

"Allow me. I'll just make a call to Butler in security and have him give me her location. It'll be much faster." He said. Ash nodded in reply. As he stepped out of the room he turned back to Ash and the scientists. "try not to behead each other while I'm gone." He closed the door behind him.

"Butler. You in your office?" He said after bringing a finger to his ear.

'Yes Sir. What do you need from me?' A feminine voice replied from the other side.

"Pull up the security cams. There's a young girl running around where she shouldn't be. I need to find her."

'Yes sir.' The woman replied. There was a silence between them for a few moments before she spoke again. 'I see a blonde girl in red and pink wandering the indoor battlefield. She looks familiar. Isn't she that performer?'

"Yes, that's her. Send Clancy to pick her up, but leave her unharmed. I also need a special favor."

'What is it, sir?'

"When Clancy finds her have him use his Malamar to give her a temporary mind-wipe. No more than two days. Can't have her squealing."

'Wont that raise suspicions with the Chosen?' Butler asked.

"Nope. We'll blame the memory loss on the Professor's hypnosis move. He'll believe me." He responded smirking.

'And the pokemon on her? He didn't use hypnosis on them.'

"Find a way to confiscate them, I don't care how as long as you don't hurt her. A single scratch on that girl and the Chosen will start to suspect something. I have to get back to Ash. My orders are to be followed. To. A. T. Understood?" He finished with heavy emphasis.

'Yes sir.' She replied. 'I will contact him immediately.'

"Good." He said ending his call. He returned to the infirmary to see that no one had been maimed. "We've found your friend. It seems she's a little delusional after the attack. Once my men get ahold of her, I've ordered them to bring her directly here."

"Thanks. I didn't know hypnosis could have this kind of lasting effect. It's weird."

"There's much we don't know about pokemon. Even after eons of existing together in harmony, there is still much to learn." He said knowingly.

"I guess." Ash replied. "Your men won't hurt her, will they?"

"Of course not! My boy, we aren't barbarians. To harm an innocent child is inexcusable." He replied in mock offense. "After all I've done for you, do you really think I would hurt your girlfriend?"

"Sorry." Ash chuckled. "And she's not my girlfriend."

"But you care so much for her. I can see it in your eyes."

"You can?" Ash asked.

"When you get to be my age and run an organization, you learn to read people very quickly. Why not tell her?"

"Well you see, there's this girl back at Sycamore's, Anabel and-" He started rubbing the back of his head.

"Ah. A regular heartthrob, eh? Stolen the hearts of two girls?" He laughed.

"I didn't mean to!" He said in defense. "But I can't choose one without hurting the other. They're both really reasonable about the whole situation but eventually they're going to get tired of waiting and I'll need to make a decision. Anabel or Serena."

"Well as your new-found friend, let me give you some advice. If you care for them both equally, why choose at all?" He smiled.

"What?" Ash said taken aback.

XXXXX

Serena and her Braxien were currently surrounded by two older men who had beckoned her to come with them and they would take her to Ash. Serena didn't know who these men were but if they were here, then the probably weren't thinking of her best interests. So she decided to fight back.

"Mystical Fire!" She said pointing at the Malamar in front of her. With a wave of its stick the bipedal fox fired a circular form of fire at the squid-like pokemon.

"Dark pulse, Malamar!" The two moves met head on and with an explosion knocked both parties back a few feet. The man, Clancy, fell backwards onto his back and Malamar flew back, levitating, while Serena and Braxien slid back on their feet.

"You okay, Braxien?!" The fox nodded before looking back at their opponent. "You're not so tough." She taunted the man.

"I've had enough! I've got things to do yet today and not on the list is play with some dimwit kid!"

"Hey!"

"Malamar, do it!" Malamar glowed a brilliant purple and shot a blast forward at the young girl. The move connected with her face and she started to waver in her stance. Braxien rushed forward to her but was cut off by Malamar who dropped down from the air right in front of her. The second man who came to collect her ran behind her and caught her just as she was about to fall over. While she was still unaware of her surroundings, he stuck his hand into her pocket and pulled out three pokeballs. He pocketed the first two and pointed the third at the fox pokemon before returning it to its now prison, much to Braxien's dismay, just as Serena began to regain consciousness. He shoved the last in his pocket quickly before she took notice of him.

"Where am I?" She looked behind her to see a man holding her by the arms. She gave a shrill shriek and brought her foot back to kick the elder man in the shin.

"Ow! You little brat, what was that for?"

"Who are you and why were you touching me?!" She asked taking a few steps back. "Where am I? Why am I all alone? Where's Ash? Clemont? Bonnie? They know I hate being in weird, poorly lit places alone!"

"Calm down." Clancy said in a calm tone. "What's the last thing you remember?"

"I was in Kanto. I received my new pokemon from Brock, then nothing. And you still haven't answered my questions!" She said pointing at Clancy. She relaxed them back to her side when she felt something odd, or more what she didn't feel. "My Pokemon! Braxien?! Pancham?! Anyone!?" She said franticly checking her pockets. Behind her the second man nodded at Clancy.

"You didn't have any pokemon on you when we found you." The man lied.

Serena let out a heavy sigh. "How did I get here?"

"From what we understand you were following your friend when you were attacked by another man. The man hit you with a powerful attack which seems to have had some... negative effects on your mind." Clancy said.

"You totally spaced out and ran off. It's like you were in another world." The other added.

"We chased you here to bring you back to your friend. If you come with us, we can take you to Ash."

Serena's heart nearly leaped out of her chest at the mention of the subject of her never-ending affection. "He's here?! Yeah, sure, whatever, just take me to him so we can go the heck home!"

Clancy nodded. "Malamar, teleport me and the girl back to the infirmary. You can go back to the lab." Malamar glowed purple once more and in a flash of light the two were gone. Once they were out of sight, he pulled the pokeballs back out of his pocket.

"We could always use more workhorses down at the lab." He snickered. He began to juggle the three as he walked away. "Once we tame them, that is."

XXXXX

A bright light engulfed the infirmary blinding Ash, Aaron, and the scientists. When it faded the men were joined by two new people.

"Ash!" Serena said rushing up to him. "You really are here!" She exclaimed resting her hands on jis shoulders.

"Of course he's here! He carried you himself." Aaron said from behind Ash. He gave Serena a smile as he looked down at her.

Suddenly Serena took a few steps back and cradled the left side of her head, wincing. She slowly released her head and brought her eyes back to Aaron. "Who are you? I know you. From where, though?"

"I'm afraid you're mistaken, dear. Though I have been told I have a very reminiscent face." He said still smiling.

"No. I know you." Serena argued narrowing her eyes in thought. Seconds later her eyes shot open and she buried her face in her hands, groaning.

"Serena! What's going on with her?" Ash asked Aaron.

"I don't know. Maybe she's still weak from the attack and all that deep thinking is hard on her mind." Aaron offered.

"I don't think so." Ash said.

Khan scoffed. "So, what do you think it is?" He said glaring at the boy.

"I don't know, but I've got a bad feeling about this." He said. "Serena! Hey! Just calm down. You shouldn't strain yourself so much."

She tore her head away from her hands once more. "Why are we here? Where is here?" She finally took notice of her surrounding and spotted the professor for the second time, though she didn't know it was her second time. "And what's he doing here!?" She said, her voice turning angry. Ash sighed.

"My employees and I will leave so you two may talk privately." Aaron said. "Out." He ordered his scientists and Clancy. The five of them shuffled out of the room and Orvis shut the door behind them.

"So?" Serena said expectantly.

'Here goes nothing,' He thought. "Remember when I left for that walk?"

"No." Serena said tilting her head.

"What?"

"Ash, the last thing I remember, I was in Kanto getting my Vulpix." She said. "In my head it feels like there are memories after that, but I can't make out what they are. It's all a blurry haze."

"That's so weird." Ash responded. "I've never heard of Hypnosis giving someone amnesia before."

"Hypnosis? Ash, what's going on?"

Ash told her of the battle between him and Abel and his secluded walk. "That's when I ran into Oak. Unknown to me, you had followed me and when you arrived Oak attacked me. We battle and somewhere along the line, I snapped. I used my most powerful Water Shuriken and it hit Oak. He died, Serena."

"He's...he's dead?" Serena said in disbelief. "How could you do something like that?"

"It was Ash-Greninja. We fought. If I won, he was going to leave Kalos for good. Then he started taunting me. I soon as I was filled with uncontrollable rage, so was Greninja. We didn't know what we were doing. I was about to turn myself in when Aaron found me. He told me he could help me control my rage. He's been training myself and Greninja to keep it under control."

"How long have we been here?"

"Two days." Ash answered.

"We have to get back to the lab. Professor Sycamore will know what to do!" Serena said.

"I can't go back. Not now." Ash said sadly. "I'll just risk hurting them."

"And what about poor Pikachu? He's probably worried sick about you! You have to at least go see him," She argued.

"Right now, the safest place for him is with the others. Once I get this under control, I'll make it up to him and everyone else. I already texted Clemont and let him know I'm okay. Besides the world isn't going to fall apart at the seams just because I'm here and not back at the lab."

"How long will it take to finish your training?" Serena asked.

"I don't know. With luck, only one more session."

"Ash something isn't right here. I know that man. But the harder I think about it..." She dipped her head and groaned in pain again. "It's like there's a road block in my head."

"I'm sure as long as we stick with Aaron, we'll be fine. He hasn't steered me wrong, yet. Why don't you come to the battlefield with us? You'll see, he's a nice guy."

"Ash, I'm serious!" She shot back. "We should go back home and talk to the others."

"Until I get Ash-Greninja under control, it's just too risky for me to leave, but I'm sure Charizard would be happy to fly you back to the lab." Ash offered smiling at her.

"Charizard? Ash I don't have any pokemon on me."

"What?! That's impossible! I left Charizard and Noivern with you to watch over you! Did you lose them?" He asked in a panic.

"I don't know! The man who brought me here said I had no pokemon!" She shot back. "Amnesia remember?! And would you not yell at me?"

Ash sighed. "You're right, sorry. Listen, we gotta find my pokemon. I'll ask Aaron for some time off to look for them. Once we find them, you can leave."

"I can't just leave you here." She sighed. "You promise as soon as you finish training, we'll go straight home?" She asked, eyes pleading.

"I promise." He said leading her out the door. He looked to see that Clancy and two of the scientists were gone. "Where's dumb and dumber?" He said turning to Aaron.

"I thought I told you to treat my employees with more respect." Aaron said sternly. "Word of mouth is the fast form of spreading information. Make one underling mad, chances are the others aren't going to like you."

"Well I'm not exactly here to make friends." Ash retorted.

"Really, now?"

"Present company excluded." He corrected himself. "Anyway, I know you've already done so much for me, but Serena seems to have dropped some pokemon during her space-out and-"

"I'll have a few men sweep the building." He interrupted. "But it's time for your next session. Why not have your friend come along this time. It might convince her of my...sincerity." He offered smiling.

"How did you-" Serena started eyeing the man carefully. "I didn't-"

"Oh please, young one. Your distrust is coming off in waves. Come with and maybe you'll learn to like me."

"Not until you tell me where I know you from!" She argued once again. "You're so familiar but I can't-" Like history repeating itself she started groaning in pain and grabbed the side of her head.

"Serena! Not again." He groaned. He walked up to her and put his hands on her shoulders. "Snap out of it!" He said shaking her slightly. Slowly she lifted her head back up.

"Thanks."

"Maybe it's best if you stayed here, Serena. My presence doesn't seem to be helping you. Perhaps we knew each other in a past life." Aaron said.

"No. I'm coming with." Serena said determinedly. "And I'm going to figure you out."

~Sycamore's Lab~

Pikachu was sitting outside the front door of Sycamore's lab, all alone, watching the sunset. Occasionally seeing different species of pokemon making their way by. Nothing new to him, just some Fletchling, litleo, spewpa, the usual. He had had enough of the planning stage and wanted to jump straight into the fight. Of course, he did. Some madman had his best buddy locked away in a factory somewhere. But Clemont insisted on having a solid plan before leaving.

Deep down, though he wondered if he should even go with. Everyone knew he wasn't a powerhouse anymore, not even average. What worth was a Pikachu in battle if he can't even use thunderbolt? Or volt tackle. Or electro ball. Or-

"We thought we'd find you out here." A voice said from behind him. Pikachu turned his head to see Anabel and Bonnie walking towards him. Bonnie plopped down on Pikachu's left and wrapped her arms around her knees as Dedenne dragged itself out of her purse. Anabel stood on his right. "You just 'huffed' and left the room."

"Pika." He said sadly, looking down.

"We miss him too." Anabel said. "But we aren't going to get him back by rushing in unorganized like a bunch of spearows with our heads cut off. You know that." She said looking at the little mouse.

"Pika." He nodded. "Pikachuuu. Pika Piii?"

"Stay here?" Anabel said.

"Why would you want to stay here?" Bonnie asked. "Ash needs you!" She said enthusiastically with Dedenne nodding along.

"Pikachu." The little mouse replied. "Chu."

"Oh, Pikachu." Anabel soothed. She knelt down on one knee and began scratching his ear.

"What's wrong?" Bonnie asked.

"He doesn't think he should go because of his condition. Pikachu, I know this last year has been rough on you, but you shouldn't sit this out. If anyone should be there to rescue Ash it's you." Anabel said. "Who's Ash's best friend?"

"Pikachu." The little mouse responded.

"That's right. Who does Ash share his shoulder with?"

"Pikachu." He echoed.

"And who's the most important person to Ash? Who would he forsake all others for?"

"Pikachu." He said as a tear fell down his face.

"So, who's gonna be there to bail him out of this mess he's in?" Anabel finished.

"Pikachu." He nodded. "Pika pi chu."

"You're welcome." She said extending her arm. "Now come on." Pikachu nodded and jumped on top of her wrist and made his way to her shoulder. "There's still a debriefing going on."

"Actually, we're finished." Anabel pivoted to see that Clemont had joined them. "But I do have a question." He said reaching into his pocket. "What do you make of this?" He pulled his phone out of his pocket and tossed it to Anabel.

She caught it easily and flipped it open. Pikachu leaned in also curious of what it was. The first thing on the screen when she opened the phone was a notification of a text from Ash.

'Hey Clemont, don't worry about me. I made a huge mistake but a new friend is helping me fix it. Hopefully I'll be home soon. Serena's here as well, and he's helping her as well. See ya.'

"I'd say Ash is in deeper than we originally thought." Anabel said stroking her chin. "My guess is that Ash's new 'friend' and that madman from earlier are one and the same."

"What makes you say that?" Bonnie asked looking up at the elder girl.

"Remember? He said when we find Ash, he'll be a different person. The best way to subtlety force his agendas would be to pose as a friend." Anabel reminded the little girl.

"Then there's that ;mistake'. What could Ash have done that was so bad, he would go to a complete stranger for help, and not us?" Clemont added. "I don't like this one bit. I was originally going to wait a couple more hours to finalize our plan, but I think we'll just have to do without. I'll round everybody up and we'll leave for the factory."

XXXXX

Clemont had gathered everyone they had recruited just inside the lab and was currently going through a checklist he had made earlier. "Duffle bag?" He called.

"Check." Anabel replied holding up the bag containing Ash's pokemon, save for Charizard, Noivern, and Pikachu, of course. "Also put several full restores and max potions in there."

"Any word from Dawn and Paul?"

"Nope. It's official, we'll have to go on without them." Bonnie reported.

"A pity." Clemont responded. "But we'll work it out. Professor, have you figured out where the hostages would be held?"

"Most likely in the lower levels due to the space needed for something like that. Not to mention the need to not raise suspicion. If need be, we could always resort to interrogation." Sycamore replied.

Clemont nodded. "Bonnie give everyone those communicators." Clemont said. Bonnie reched into her purse and pulled out many tiny earpieces. "These communicators will allow us to keep in touch no matter where we are within the premises." Bonnie began passing out the small machines.

"Good. It sucks that we weren't able to finalize the plan, but times running out. Let's run through what we do have. There are to main entrances to the factory. One in the front and one in the back." He started. "He wants us to come to him, so there's a 99% chance that we'll be walking straight into a trap. But I have faith we can handle what they throw at us. The blueprints of the factory I found were very outdated so don't expect to know exactly where you're going. Anabel will take Kidd and Ritchie and find Ash." He stated. "Meanwhile Professor will take Trip and Tory and go to the lower levels to finf the missing persons and hopefully cut the external power source."

"Got it." Sycamore nodded.

"Going off the blueprints, the quickest way for Sycamore's team to get to an elevator to take him to the lower levels would be to go through the back. While Anabel's will go through the front. There will probably be many lackeys who will try to stop us from getting inside so, I'm splitting the rest of you up as well." Everyone nodded in understanding. Bonnie, Clembot, Miette, Bianca, Molly, and I will help Anabel, while Max, Abel, Team Rocket, Mairin, and Alain help Professor Sycamore."

"Anything else?" Trip asked impatiently.

"Yeah. Watch each other's backs. I bet my favorite jumpsuit these people won't play fair." Clemont replied.

"Oh please." Jessie retorted.

"Team Rocket invented the art of not playing fair." James finished.

"Yeah, sure, whatever lets you sleep at night. Now let's go save Ash!" He yelled pumping his fist. The room was then filled with cheers from the group before they all made their way outside.

~Pokeball Factory~

Ash, Greninja, and Aaron were sitting on their knees, eyes closed, in deep meditation. "Feel the tranquility. Nothing can burst through your concentration." Aaron said softly. "Every emotion equalized and under control."

"Every emotion under control." Ash echoed.

"Think of your Mother." He added. "What was supposed to be the closest person to you. Then she brought on you the worst pain possible." He heard Ash breathe heavily. "Keep breathing." He ordered. "We're approaching the last step to your training. Find your inner tranquility."

"Tranquility." Ash echoed once again. Suddenly a circular swirl of wind kicked up around the three and began rotating around them pushing back dust and gravel around the perimeter.

"What's going on?" Ash asked in a very relaxed, unattached voice.

"The united form of our aura's. It's created a powerful source around us." He replied in an equally relaxed voice. "The closer we get to pure tranquility..." He paused for a second as the force around them grew in depth. "the more powerful the aura source will become."

From the bleachers of the battlefield, Serena sat alone, not taking her eyes off the scene. It truly was an amazing sight to see what Aaron was teaching Ash, but she still didn't trust him. She was still having on and off headaches from trying to figure out who the man was.

"Hey! You're that girl." A foreign voice said. She turned to see a man who looked to be in his twenties with an Aipom hanging off his shoulder by his tail hand. He approached her and sat down next to her on the bleachers.

"Uh...I guess. What girl are you talking about?"

"The one that the Chosen was carrying when he got here. Nice to be able to talk to you this time." He smiled.

"Pom!" The little monkey swung himself up and over the shoulder he was hanging on and did a little flip in the air before landing his feet in front of Serena.

"I'm Kane and that's my best buddy Aipom." He said gesturing to the little pokemon who extended his arm out to the young girl.

"It's nice to meet you too." She replied grasping the monkey's stubby arm and shaking it lightly. "You're so adorable." She began scratching his head gently.

"Looks like the boss is back to training Ash, huh?" He asked directing his gaze to the field. "The boss sure likes to get to the point."

Serena wasn't really listening. He had lost her at 'The boss'. She was staring blankly in front of her when she suddenly was sucked into her subconscious. Kane noticed her blank stare and began to wave his hand in front of her face.

Inside Serena's mind she was experiencing unfamiliar settings. She first found herself in the cafeteria of the lab surrounded by her friends, and Abel, but not Ash. She couldn't make out anymore than that, though.

'...reversing the aging process...'

'...What happened to that lady...'

'...got to be pure science fiction...'

'...Chuu...'

Then the scene faded away and she was now in pure darkness.

'ASH!' She heard many people call out.

'Someone has to go get Ash. Preferably before someone else does.' She heard the disembodied voice of Clemont say. She then heard her own voice echoing around her.

'We'll go! C'mon Pikachu.'

'Pikachu has to stay here. Serena, you still have Charizard.' She heard the voice of her love rival ask. 'Take him and search for Ash.'

She blinked and found herself in a new scene. Before her she watched her past self climb on top of Charizard and shoot off to the west of the lab.

"What is going on? These must be suppressed memories." She realized. "But I can't make out anything big."

'WAKE UP, KID!'

Suddenly, like she was traveling through time she was sucked back out of her subconscious and back into the real world. She blinked once and found herself back at the bleachers.

"You're awake!" Serena turned to see Kane and his Aipom staring at her. "You just zoned out for a good three minutes. You okay? Was it something I said?" He asked.

"No. No. I don't know what's wrong with me. Every time I try to think about that man I space out and my head start throbbing. I know I've seen him somewhere before."

"Oh. I'm sorry." Kane knew it probably was his boss's doing. Being the messenger and an assistant to the record keepers of this company he heard a lot of stories, most of the time when people didn't know he was listening. He had heard from multiple different people that anyone who upsets the boss disappears...forever. He wished he could warn the girl that it might be best to just stay away from the subject around him, but if his boss found out he helped the chosen one's friend find his identity, it'd be his head, and possibly Aipom's on the wall. "So you know the chosen?"

"His name is Ash. He never really liked being called anything more than that. He knows he's special but would prefer to keep his identity as Ash and not 'Ash the aura-sensitive prodigy or the so-called chosen one." She responded making quotes with her fingers.

"Huh. He's got all that and doesn't want to acknowledge it?" Kane asked thoroughly interested in the boy. "He's somethin' else."

She sighed dreamily. "Yeah, he is."

"Ohhh." He said in realization. "You like him!"

"Yeah." She said in the same voice.

"Something tells me you haven't acted on it. Afraid to tell him?

"No." She said honestly. "He found out a long time ago. It's another girl. He doesn't want to choose between us. I'm positive he's afraid the one he doesn't choose will hate him because of it. I'm getting tired of waiting for a decision though."

"Sounds like you got a problem, then."

At the same time back on the field, the force around the three men died down quickly.

"That's enough. You did excellent. With this I have one thing left to teach you." Aaron said standing up. "We'll take a break for now and with luck you'll be on your way home by tomorrow afternoon." He finished smiling he extended both his arms out to the two who were still sitting and hoisted them up.

"Only one more? What?" Ash asked.

"I'll tell you later. But I did want to ask you about an... _extra_ lesson. Are you up for it?" He asked.

"What is it? You've already done so much, you don't really have to-"

"I can feel how sensitive you are to the aura around you. How would you like to learn a power that could heal any injury?" He smirked with a gleam in his eye.

Ash's eyes widened as far as they could and he started breathing heavily. " _ANY_ injury?" He asked. "Even say... irreparable nerve damage?"

"And then some." He replied. "I take that as a 'you're interested.'?" He smiled.

'Pikachu's gonna be so stoked!' "I'm in one thousand percent!" He yelled jumping up slightly off the ground. "I can't thank you enough!" He said wrapping the elder man in a hug. "This has to be one of the best days of my life!"

"I'll just need one thing from you in return." Aaron said.

"Whatever you need!" Ash responded happily. Honestly he was only paying a quarter attention to him, he was actually planning a day full of fun and love once Pikachu gets his mobility. Behind him Aaron grinned widely.


	12. A Taste of Revenge

~Hall of Origins~

Arceus and her lake guardians, Mewtwo, Latias, and Giratina were all watching Ash and his situation through a vat located at the center of the main room in the Hall of Origins. Arceus and Giratina with a much more impassive expressions than the rest. Mewtwo stood with his arms crossed, glaring while the lake guardians were bopping around him lively. Finally, Latias was hovering over the vat watching with pure anticipation.

'Still think your plan was the right one?' Mewtwo shot at Arceus, tearing his gaze away from the vat. 'Without his Pikachu, the boy's moral compass and observation skills are critically impaired,'

'To be fair, he never really was that observant to begin with.' Mespirit chimed in cheekily, still swaying in the air. 'Neither was Pikachu. Brains weren't really their strong point, they go by their guts.'

'Shut it, squirt.' Mewtwo retorted angrily. 'No one's talking to you.'

'Ooh, big man!' She mocked. 'Look at me, I'm shivering!' She began giggling.

'Must you continue with the nicknames Mewtwo?' Arceus scolded. 'Please, this is a place of respect and honor.'

Mewtwo scoffed in response. 'Whatever. You didn't answer my question. This situation is getting worse by the second. Still going with the 'no interference' rule?'

'Of course.' Arceus stated. 'As I should. It was my decision long ago to stop interfering with the exception of creation.'

'But Ash is being deceived!' Latias added. 'Shouldn't one of us go down there and warn him of what is to come?'

'How will he learn to overcome if we are the ones to fix the problem. He must find the strength himself.' Azelf said calmly.

'Azelf is correct. Even if we put destiny aside, the Chosen One will benefit much more if we let him do this himself.' Arceus said nodding her head once. 'You should have more faith Mewtwo. Just because we are not there does not mean he will fail on his path.'

'Well excuse me if I'm not as well-endowed as your 'children' Arceus. Unlike them I was created by imperfect beings.' He snarled. 'And why didn't you tell Jirachi?'

'There is no such thing as perfection, Mewtwo. Not even I am perfect, that is why you are allowed to call my actions.' She said monotoned. 'As for why young Jirachi doesn't know, as soon as I sensed young Max's regrets, I decided against it. I decided it would be too much for me to do.'

'On another note, perhaps we could allow Zygarde 1 to fight with the young girl.' Azelf offered. 'That could, in theory, take some tension off the others who feel someone should be involved.'

'Yes, and he has been very stressed over young Bonnie lately.' Giratina added. 'What do you think?' He said turning to Arceus.

Arceus stood in thought for a moment and then sighed. 'I wish my children would practice the rule of non-attachment like I suggested. Still, I suppose it's unavoidable. I'll allow it, but he must steer clear of the Chosen One.'

'It's about time you made a good call.' Mewtwo snorted. 'I was beginning to think I misplaced my trust.'

'I never meant for you to doubt myself. My intentions are pure, of that you can be sure. Whether it seems like it to you or not I only want what's best for my Chosen.'

'You left him with Delia for a mother. You had to have known what she truly was.' Latias retorted.

'No. That is the nature of life. Everything starts out pure, but nothing is free from corruption. And corruption is everywhere. She was a good mother. Was. Even we, as the legends of this world, are not above malicious nature. You all know that.'

'I still say I should go down there.' Mewtwo said turning his attention back to the vat which now showed Ash, Aaron, Serena, and Kane walking down a hallway. 'That Lucario visited him in his sleep right under our noses without consequences.'

'Lucario acted out of brashness and ignorance to the severity of the situation. I should have known something like that would happen. After all, once they've passed on, they are no longer in my domain and don't adhere to my rules.' She said slightly annoyed. 'Still, he said little and it's hard to hold a grudge against my guardians' right hand.'

'So basically, he can do it but we can't.' Latias summarized. Beside her Mewtwo was eyeing Uxie who had barely moved in hours, save only for hovering in the air.

'You're awfully quiet, Uxie.' Mewtwo said.

In response Uxie turned its head toward the Genetic Pokemon. 'Some talk much, but say little.' The petite pokemon said in an unattached voice.

Mewtwo glared back at the knowledge pokemon. 'I'm going to assume you're not talking about me for your sake. And look at me if you're going to have a conversation!' He snapped.

Uxie shook its head. 'Eyes can deceive you. I've learned to only trust my mind, and am better for it.'

'Are you gonna tell us your take on the situation or not?'

'There's a reason Arceus is in charge. I trust her.' Uxie replied simply.

'That's it?' Mewtwo asked incredulously. 'There's a reason Arceus is in charge.' He repeated mockingly. 'That's your take on the situation? I thought you were the keeper of wisdom! Give us something more!' Mewtwo snapped. 'Something with, you know, wisdom?'

'Sometimes the wisest words are the simplest.' Uxie said back in monotone. 'Big words do not make a smart being.'

'Thank you Uxie.' Arceus said. 'Would you be so kind as to fetch Zygarde for me?' Uxie nodded and floated off slowly. 'Giratina, recall Palkia and Dialga back here and Latias make sure to alert Meloetta. Tell her to keep her distance from here on out. We must not interfere any more than we already have.' Arceus ordered.

XXXXX

"Ash!" Serena whined trailing behind the others. "I thought you said we'd go home!" She caught Aaron and Kane looking at her in inquiry. Aipom was also confused but was to focused on using his stubby appendages to hold himself up on Kane's shoulders to turn his head. Eventually he gave up trying to use his near vestigial limbs and opted to hang off Kane's shoulder with his tail hand.

Noticing the looks, Serena quickly backtracked. "No offense." She corrected herself holding her hand sup in mock surrender. "Honestly, you've got a really nice place, I just prefer places I'm familiar with."

"And how will you get to try new things with that attitude?" Aaron shot back. "In any case we're almost finished, but Ash and I wanted to do an... extra lesson before he leaves my humble abode. Won't take very long I promise."

His words sent shivers down her spine, thought she didn't know why. He still managed to creep her out even thought she had no idea who he was or where he she knew him from. She quickly picked up the pace and fell in line with Ash. "Straight home." She scolded quietly leaning over to him. "You promised."

"I know. I know. But this isn't about me, it's about Pikachu." He whispered back. "Just hang in there, Serena. We're healing Pikachu." He said determinedly.

"Healing? Ash, the doctors said the damage was beyond repair. This sounds too good to be true." Serena warned.

"Trust me." Ash pressed authoritatively.

"Normally when someone says that, bad things happen."

"We're here!" Aaron yelled holding out his arms in front of him presenting the room to the rest of the company, though both Kane and Aipom had been before. "The heart of the factory!"

Ash, Aaron and the others arrived at the center most room in the entire facility. Built specifically for the bossman himself, Aaron. A small, dimly lit, room with a complex computer with multiple screens located at the northern portion and six large circular pads located all over the room. Three to the right and three to the left.

"This is the heart?" Ash asked taking a look around. The four of them shuffled in the room. "It's not a room with a computer, it's a computer with a room!"

"Didn't anyone ever teach you not to judge things on base appearances? But never mind that, if we're going to help Pikachu, we'll need something first." Aaron declared.

"Do we need us to run to the market? A little late don't you think?" Ash said.

"No nothing like that." Aaron said waving his hand at the boy. "Something else. A person." He clarified.

"Excuse me, Aaron." Serena interrupted putting extra emphasis on Aaron. "We took Pikachu to one of the best surgeon's in all of Kanto. We were told it was hopeless. And considering you're just Aaron and not Dr. Aaron, I don't see what you could do that the surgeon couldn't." She glared crossing her arms over her chest.

The man chuckled in response. "Ever the spark of life in you. You're exactly right, though. It's often what you don't see that is the quickest solution. The reason I could help and that incompetent man could not, is because I can use aura." He said putting his left hand to his chest. "As can your friend." He took his hand and pointed to Ash. "Ash, you may remember one of the things I mentioned off handedly is that not only is aura key for meditation, but aura can be directly siphoned given the right circumstances." He started. Ash nodded once in understanding.

"When your body experiences grief, pain, sickness, disabilities, things like that, the aura around it becomes...tainted. I call this impaired aura." He explained. "The only way to fix your Pikachu's situation is to replace that impaired aura with healthy aura. It's an ancient, forgotten technique of the old aura guardians."

"How would you know something like that?" Serena asked. Beside her Kane looked like he wanted to say something, but kept his mouth shut and just gave Aipom a nervous look who in return just continued to swing back and forth.

"All will be explained in time." The boss replied levelly. "First we help Pikachu. Then I'll answer any questions." He smiled at Ash.

"But why-" Serena started

"So how do we create healthy aura?" Ash asked cutting Serena off. "What do we do?"

"Sadly, you can't just create healthy aura." Aaron replied. "Healthy aura is only created when new life is created, something we do not have the ability to do. So we'll need to...borrow...someone else's. Do not worry, having someone else's aura inside Pikachu will not harm him. He'll most likely feel sick for a week or so but eventually his body will assimilate the foreign aura into his own."

"Take someone else's?" Ash looked to his feet. "What kind of effects would that have on the other person? Oh, what does it matter, use mine!" He declared. "I don't care what I have to do just help my little buddy!"

"Ash!" Serena scolded.

"Admirable, truly admirable. From what I've learned, you should think of it as a swap. Whatever is healed in Pikachu will be taken from the subject. If you were truly to go through with this Pikachu would be healed, but you would be in his position. Paralyzed from the waist down." Aaron said.

"Do it." Ash replied without a second's hesitation.

"Ash!" Serena snapped her head towards him "You are not doing this!"

"Lucky for you I have a different idea. Follow me." He led them all to the computer at the front of the room and began typing on his keyboard. "As soon as I thought of this plan, I had one of my employees go on a special trip to Kanto. I knew you'd volunteer yourself, but It'd be a damn shame if you truly had to go through with it." He brought a finger up to his ear. "Dr. Sung, subject K13 to control room."

'Right away, sir.'

"Subject K13?" Serena asked.

"Kane." He turned to the younger man. "Got to that lever over there," He said pointing to the opposite side of the room. "and wait for further instructions." Suddenly a loud whirring overtook the room and startled the two guests.

"What's going on!" Ash said covering his ears.

"You're about to be offered the chance of a lifetime!" Aaron called back. At the right side of the room one of the circular pads lowered until a big hole was left in its place.

"What's that?" Serena asked trying to calm herself form the loud sounds around her. "What's happening?!" A single pod raised up from the hole in the floor. There was someone inside. It didn't take long for Ash to recognize who was in the pod. The pod came to a stop once it was fully in the room.

"My mother?!"

"Delia!" Serena gasped covering her mouth with both hands. Indeed, in the pod was a sleeping middle aged woman in a white cleaning outfit and her hair up in a ponytail. Peacefully resting with a smile on her face.

"I told you I'd been watching for a long time." Aaron said in a soothing voice. "We needed healthy aura. A soul such as you shouldn't have to go through what could very much be such pain to fix something that wasn't even your fault. With so much at stake, I knew you'd volunteer yourself, so I decided to provide an easier way out."

"There's no way she'd be okay with this! She was a driving force in crippling Pikachu." Ash stated.

"Yes, I know. When my underlings approached her about this, she was less than cooperative. She unleashed an Emboar on us. Not much of a challenge in the hands of an inexperienced battler."

Ash rolled his eyes. "Him again? Great. So, if she didn't want to help, why is she here?" He asked.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures. We needed a source. No one would blame us for choosing her."

"Wait a second." Serena interrupted. "You make it sound like you knocked her out and dragged her here. You know, _kidnapping_?"

"Kidnapping is such an ugly word. I prefer _justice_. _Comeuppance_. The way I see it, she had this coming. You didn't want Ash to do it, right?" He pressed. "Now he doesn't have to." He walked over to Ash and put a hand on his shoulder. "Are you in?"

Ash looked at Aaron for a moment and then back to his mother. He shrugged the hand off of his shoulder and made his way to the pod his mother was in. He stopped with his face inches away from the pod, eye to eye with his mother. "We meet again, huh? Never thought I'd see the day." He said to the sleeping form.

Aaron followed Ash's footsteps and came to a stop next to him. "You haven't answered the question. Do you still volunteer yourself? Or do we use your mom?" He asked. Serena watched with anticipation in her eyes. There was a slight gleam in Aaron's eyes, just subtle enough to sneak by Ash and Serena's senses, but not Kane's.

"She's my mother." Ash said turning his head and glaring at Aaron. "Not my mom. Any woman in the world can mother a child, but it takes someone much more special than her to be a _mom_." He turned his head back to the stasis pod. "How would this even work?" Ash asked. "What would I do?"

"During one of our sessions I asked you if you had any experience in manipulating aura. You told me you once helped a Lucario heal a Mew at the Tree of Beginnings." Aaron started. "It's much the same, except instead of healing, you'll be taking." He clarified. "You just center yourself, imagine Pikachu getting better, feel your mother getting worse. Then use your will. Make it happen."

"Doesn't sound very ethical, Aaron." Serena shot at the man.

"Doesn't it? I didn't know there is a clear definition of 'ethical'. My definition of ethical is what is just and what you feel in your heart." He shot back before turning his attention back to Ash. "The justice system failed you, Ash. No one truly got punished for what happened to your friend. If they won't do something, then who will?" He asked with a knowing smile. Ash just continued to stare at Delia.

"Ash I don't think-" Serena started taking a few steps toward Ash before being cut off by a powerful gust kicking up around Ash. The gust pushed her back so she was in the same spot she was before speaking and blew her hat clean off her head. She tried her best to stop it, grabbing the top of her head, but to no avail "Ash!"

"The lever! Now, Kane!" Aaron shouted pointing at the younger man. Kane nodded and, with slight reluctance, pulled the large lever and next to the stasis pod Delia was in a much wider but shorter pod raised up from the ground. The difference was this pod was empty and seemingly built with many different parts.

"Ash! Can't we talk about this?!" Serena pleaded clasping her hands together.

"He can't hear you." Aaron replied. Serena turned to see Aaron pressing buttons rapidly across his key board, brilliant white lights flashing underneath the keys. "He's too deep in concentration. He'll snap out of it soon." He told her without looking back at her. "I need a siphon connecting tube K13 and vat one." He called into his mic. A small, slender tube lowered from the ceiling and connected the two tubes. "All set."

Serena began making her way towards Ash again. "Ash!" Serena began taking steps toward Ash, working against the ever-growing gust surrounding him. Behind her Aaron pointed at Kane, grabbing his attention and gestured towards Serena. He then mouthed 'stop her' but didn't let any noise come from his mouth. She tried walking closer but she was stopped by Kane's hand on her shoulder, holding her back. "Do you mind?" She said glaring at him.

"I wouldn't do that." Kane suggested. "You should stay here, at a distance."

"Why?" Serena asked shrugging his hand off her shoulder. "Can't you see he's about to dig himself into a bigger hole?!"

"Uh..." He stammered trying to think of something. "What if you get caught in the middle of the transfer? You could end up hurt." He tried.

Serena turned to look at Kane and his pleading Aipom. "I'll take my chances." She turned her head back to Ash. "I have to-" Serena gave out a loud gasp and covered her mouth with both her hands. In front of her Ash, eyes closed and two hands out in front of him, was being surrounded by some type of blue electricity. She could see that it was a painful experience, but it looked like Ash's mind wasn't even registering the pain.

In the pod Delia was engulfed by what looked like blue-colored smoke and again it looked like Delia's reflexes were working but there were no moans of pain. In between the pod and Ash there was a giant blue sphere forming and growing in size. The more of what Serena assumed was healthy aura that spilled out of Delia, the more conscious it seemed Ash was becoming. Suddenly his eyes shot open and Ash quickly became aware of what was happening.

"What am I doing?!" He panicked unable to stop the transaction. He looked at his torso to see it buzzing with electricity and finally began feeling the effects. "I'm in terrible pain right now! Is it too late to change my mind? Somebody stop me!" He yelled. He looked behind him to see Serena, Kane, and Aipom staring at him in awe. "Serena! Now would be a good time for an intervention!" He yelled. Around him the gust of aura began to move less in a uniform path and more sporadically.

"Stop now and you might kill her!" Aaron interrupted. That was a lie. In truth, if Ash were to stop halfway through, then all the effects would be reversed and it would be as if it never happened.

" _Kill her_?! You never mentioned that part!" Ash snapped at the older man, enraged. "What do I do?!"

"Calm down. I told you, use your will. Force the aura through the siphon and into the other tube." Aaron instructed pointing at the larger of the tubes. "Visualize it." Ash nodded and closed his eyes again and the wind around him returned to its uniform pattern. Portion after portion aura spilled out of Delia's tube and into the empty one, where in conglomerated in the middle assimilating each new portion into a new form. The larger tube and siphon would also glow shiny cobalt whenever involved with any events aura-related.

Just as Ash was siphoning the last bit of the needed healthy aura in he fell backward quickly, landing harshly on the floor.

"Ash!" Serena shot forward towards Ash as the gust surrounding him died down completely. She came to a stop right next to him and dropped to her knees. "Ash!" She yelled shaking him gently. Kane joined her on the floor and put two fingers to Ash's wrist.

"He's alive, pulse is normal. My guess is he just fainted from stress." He informed her. Kane looked at the pod to see the previously siphoned aura beginning to transporting itself back to Delia. "Hey Boss!" He said pointing at the tube.

"Shit!" Aaron cursed. He rushed over and stuck his hands out in front of him which both began to glow cobalt blue and the circular wind returned around him. "Can't let it reverse." Being much more experienced he was able to finish the job much quicker than Ash would've been able to. The bunch of accumulated aura came to a halt in the wider tube, moving around violently, as if it was sentient.

On her knees Serena dozed off into space as scenes of days ago flashed before her eyes. She saw herself sitting in front of a TV with Clemont and Bonnie by her side. On the TV there was a much more elderly Aaron mocking them.

'Then that mean you're the one behind the kidnappings.' She heard Clemont's voice say.

'Yes, that was me.' She heard Aaron reply. 'I thought I'd show you what you're up against.'

Before her she saw Aaron climb in a pod next to another pod holding a lady she didn't know and watch as some sort of weird procedure commenced causing the young lady to grow older and Aaron to grow much younger. Then everything became clear. He was the bad guy. She had been in the den of the devil for days and didn't even know it. That's what her vision and headaches were. They were her brain trying to warn her. She blinked once to find herself once again back in reality. She turned to see Kane observing Ash and Aaron sitting on his swivel chair, working on his computer again.

"You!" She said jolting to her feet and pointing a finger accusingly at Aaron. "I remember now! You kidnapped everyone! You stole that girl's youth! And worst of all you've been manipulating my Ash from the very beginning, haven't you?!"

Aaron turned his chair around to face the young teen. "Yes. Yes. And yes. Though I must say if you think manipulating "your" Ash is the worst thing I've done, then your priorities are more than a little out of line. You know, you've been nothing but rude since you arrived here, and with all this incessant nagging you do, I'm beginning to wonder what Ash sees in you."

"I was rude because you were being a bad influence on Ash!" She said glaring at him. "Look where your help has gotten him!"

"Harsh words." Aaron replied leaning over and making a pyramid with his fingers. "You, little girl, are starting to get on my nerves. No doubt you want to tell Ash what a bad, bad man I am and drag him out of here immediately." He chuckled to himself. "But I've got you just where I want you. And you won't tell him a thing."

"Why's that?"

"Because you like your Braxien _alive_." Aaron replied.

'Braxien!' Serena remembered feeling her pockets for the pokeball. 'She was in my pocket when I left the lab!' That was starting to come back to her as well. How two older men attacked her. She remembered defending herself with Braxien, then nothing.

"Braxien's not the only one of your friends currently in my custody. It'd be a shame if something would happen to them because you couldn't keep your mouth shut." He added smugly.

"Is that a threat?" Serena snapped.

"Of course not. I just wished to inform you of your situation." Aaron replied. "So, make a choice on what course of action you wish to take, little girl, because I can feel him waking up in three, two, one..." Next to Kane Ash began to moan in pain, still hurting from the electricity produced by the overuse of aura.

"Ash!" Serena darted back to her friend. "Ash, are you alright?"

Ash hoisted his upper body up from his arms and did a quick take of his surroundings. He quickly noticed the tube which now held his mother's healthy aura. "Did it work? Please tell me I didn't kill her."

"According to my computer vital signs are showing." Aaron replied from his seat. "She's alive. You did well. I have to go check on something in the lab, Kane watch them just to make sure they don't make any trouble." He said. Serena knew the whole statement was directed towards her. But he was right, as much as she loved Ash, and boy was that a lot, she would never choose him over Braxien. She would just have to play along for now.

"So, it happened?" Ash asked turning his head to Serena. "I stole Delia's healthy aura?"

"Yes." Serena said somberly lowering her head in the process. "You did. What were you thinking? You came here to clean up your act and now this." She told him. "You realize he could use all this against you, right?"

"I don't think he would do that." Ash replied.

'If only you knew.' She thought.

"Serena can you be honest with me?" Ash asked with pleading eyes. "There's something I need to know."

"Anything." Serena replied.

"Have I become a bad person?" He asked. "I need you to be honest."

"What?" She asked softly but still surprised. "Ash, of course you're not a bad person. What would give you such a silly idea?"

"I never really realized it until after my confrontation with Oak but I've done so many questionable and terrible things." He replied. Unable to hold himself up on his arms any longer he slouched back onto the floor. "I'm a jerk to every new person I meet, even when they're nothing but nice to me, I've become unforgiving, I straight up killed a man, and now look, I've just stolen a woman's health without her even knowing."

"Ash..."

"And worst of all," He continued. "I'm not sorry. It felt...good. Hurting my mother like that. I may have told you I wanted to stop, but deep down I think I wasn't going to let anything stop me. It felt like I needed to do it." He said. "Does that make me a bad person?"

"Of course not." Serena replied without thought. "There are very few people on this world that I would label 'bad', and you Ash Ketchum, are not one of them." She said. "You're flawed. Oak hurt you in the worst way possible, by attacking your best friend, and Delia went along with it every step of the way. No one blames you for being angry and bitter. I can't say that if someone did that to Braxien that I would show mercy. I will admit though, I do miss the old Ash from time to time. I want you to try harder to bring him back. For me?" She asked with pleading eyes.

"Alright. I'll try. But first, Pikachu." He said trying to get up. Serena wrapped his left arm around her shoulder and slowly stood up acting as a support beam. For further support she pushed up on his chest with one hand.

"Let's get you something to eat first." Serena insisted. "Kane, take us to a cafeteria, or a freezer, even a vending machine would work."

"Alright, follow me." He nodded.

~Pokeball Factory – Lower Levels~

Aaron was walking down a dark corridor until he met up with another woman dressed up in a lab coat holding a clipboard standing just outside a heavily fortified door with a retina scanner to the left of it. "T." Aaron called. "You called? I assume that means our newest subject is all set up in his pod?"

"Yes sir." T replied. She wrote a couple things down and then held the clipboard out in front of her. Aaron took it without hesitation and flipped so he could read it. "Subject label S29 is set in his pod."

"Good." He walked past her and bent over in front of the lock on the door. A small bulbous figure located on the lock opened up and a green laser shot forward and scanned Aaron's eye from left to right.

'Access granted.'

The doors parted slowly creating an entrance for him to enter. This wasn't just any room though. Once inside he was immediately met with a small modified Z.Z. flyer he acquired from the Oblivia region hovering just above ground, but even more noticeable was that aligned against the left wall for as long as the eye could see, was stasis pod after stasis pod, each holding a captive inside seemingly unaware of their situation. Aaron, having seen this many times, payed no mind to it and quickly mounted his flyer.

"Flyer." He said with a commanding voice. Take me to sector S." He ordered. The flyer took off quickly down the hall it was located in and as Aaron looked to his left he could see a blur of faces as he moved farther down the corridor.

The flyer came to a stop at a pod labeled 'Subject S1: Casey Dean Saaz' which held a young girl of her 20's with long black hair and a red shirt and pants. She was also wearing an eevee hat and glasses. Aaron looked for one second then turned away. "Not what I'm looking for." He hopped off his flyer and made his way down the hall passing more and more tubes.

"S26...S27...S28...here." He called off. "Subject S29 'Brock Victor Stone." He smiled. "Or as I like to call him Plan B." Indeed, in the pod was Ash's most prevalent traveling companion, unconscious and in his normal outfit. "With you in my care, if Ash does decide to revolt, I'll have something to hold against him and he'll still be mine. And soon all your other friends will join you. Now if only I could get Serena in one of these without raising suspicions right now. I fear she's not going to let my secret identity slide much longer."

'Sir, it's Butler.' A voice went off in his ear. He pressed a finger to the microphone lodged in his ear.

"Butler. What is it?" He replied with annoyance. "And be quick."

"It's the boys' friends. They're just outside the premises. Should we intercept now, sir?"

"Only send a few for now. Lead them closer to the factory, then we spring the trap. I have stasis tubes ready for all of them. Also send out a message to everyone saying not to let Ash and Serena near anything that could alert them to the situation."

'Right away, sir.'


	13. Battle Outside the Factory

~Pokeball Factory~

~North End~

Clemont and his team of infiltrators sat behind a large bush outside the pokeball factory. Clemont had a pair of binoculars pressed against his face and was scanning their surroundings. Ahead of him were three grunts guarding the main entrance, each with a pokemon out. The left had a Beartic, the center grunt had an Arcanine, and the left had a Farfetch'd.

"Do you see anything, Clemont?" Bonnie asked. "How many of them are there?"

"Not too many, I suppose." Clemont replied not looking away. "Something's off though. He definitely has a trap somewhere. He basically rolled out the red carpet for us earlier. There's no way three grunts is all he has." Clemont brought his hand up to his ear and hit a little button in a device hanging from his ear causing it to light up green. "Professor, what's it like on your end?"

'We had one guard. Jessie and James were kind enough to offer to knock him out.' Sycamore replied. 'Painlessly, I hope. Somethings off about this lad, he doesn't seem like the degenerate type.' Sycamore explained.

"Looks can be deceiving, professor. Don't get too sentimental or those people locked inside are as good as dead." Clemont replied.

'Regardless, Tory, Trip, and I are about to move in.'

"Alright, good luck. And keep your communicators on." Clemont ordered. "If you get split up somehow, it's imperative that we're able to communicate with each other."

'Understood.'

Clemont turned around to find his little sister, Anabel, Pikachu, Molly, Miette, Ritchie, Bianca, and his Clembot looking towards him. "Alright it's time to move out and we need to be...wait a minute..." He took a moment to take a head count. "Where's Kidd?" Bonnie pointed behind him and Clemont turned around to see Kidd tying up two grunts with another unconscious grunt and three pokemon incased in blocks of ice next to her. She tightened the knot quick and waved for the others to join her. "Huh." Was all Clemont could say.

"Come on." Anabel said jumping from behind the bush.

"Pika!" The little mouse cheered from Anabel's shoulder. He thrusted his leg forward for emphasis as well. "Pika. Chuu." Everybody followed closely behind for an unusually easy sprint up to the front door.

"How'd you do that?" Bonnie asked in wonder running up to Kidd. "That was amazing!"

Kidd chuckled. "I take guys like these on for a living. They all operate in mostly the same way. Strength in numbers using combined strength to overpower their enemies because they can't overpower anyone on their own." She replied knowingly.

"This is way too easy. I thought you said there was going to be a trap?" Bianca asked.

"I thought there would be. Maybe I overestimated this guy." Clemont replied in an exhausted voice. "I didn't think I did."

"You okay?" Kidd asked the heaving scientist. "You need water?"

"I'm a scientist, not an athlete." He replied. "I hate running."

"It was like 200 feet!" Kidd said in disbelief. "That's like, a tenth of my warm up."

"200 feet uphill!" Clemont fought back. "I'm so out of shape."

"That you are." Kidd shot back turning herself towards the factory. "Alright, let's go." Kidd, Anabel, and Ritchie walked up to the giant door and Kidd noticed the numbered padlock. "We need a code. You got one?" She asked turning back to Clemont.

Clemont was about to answer when the doors began to slowly open on their own revealing a long dark hallway in front of them. From atop Anabel's shoulder, Pikachu's ears began to twitch rapidly. He turned his head around as close to 180 degrees as he could searching his surroundings.

"Pika!" He shouted.

Anabel turned his head towards the little mouse. "You hear something?" Anabel asked. "What?"

Pikachu turned his head once again and met eyes with a stranger. "Pikachu! Pik!" He said pointing behind them. "Pikachuuu!" Everyone turned the direction Pikachu was pointing to find several new lackeys walking towards them.

"Over there!" Bianca said. From their left, more people were coming. "It wasn't long before they were coming from all sides except from behind.

"They're everywhere!" Miette exclaimed. "And they're flanking us."

"Then let's go!" Anabel said. "See you on the other side!" She quickly grabbed ahold of Ritchie's wrist and dragged him quickly inside the factory.

"Hold on!" Kidd said. She had just finished setting all the grunts and their pokemon inside the factory. "Hold on!" She repeated rushing after them. She sprinted up behind them and into the darkened hallway.

"Wait! Maybe-" Clemont was cut off by the giant doors slamming shut at an alarming speed. It also created a gust strong enough to knock Clemont and everyone else clean off his feet. He groaned heavily as he and the rest of his team got back to their feet. "I knew I didn't overestimate him!"

"Anabel can you hear me!?" Clemont shouted hoping the communicator was still working.

"It won't work," One of the grunts said. The man pulled a pokeball out of his pocket and tossed it gently into the air, revealing a rather large Zangoose. "the building's jamming your signal. Come quietly or this'll get ugly."

Clemont looked around to see the others being put in a similar situation. He turned back to his oppressor. "If there's one thing I've learned from dealing with people like you," He started reaching into his pocket. "it's that things usually turn out better when you do it the ugly way! Luxray!" He called letting out his trusted pokemon.

Luxray immediately glared at the grunt causing him to take one step back. Beside him Everybody seemed to be doing the same. Bonnie was, of course, fighting with Dedenne and Miette had let out her Meowstic, Bianca had released an Espeon. Molly was attacking a few head on with a Teddiursa, and Clembot was fighting with Clemont's Heliolisk.

"Is anybody there?" Clemont begged.

'We're still here.' The voice of Max chimed in. 'We've lost Professor Sycamore and the others, though.'

"Were you going to let us know?!" Clemont asked annoyed.

'Grovyle use Leaf Blade!' He heard the voice of Max yell. 'Go for the face!' There was a pause before anything else was said. 'Yeah, we're a little caught up. As soon as they got inside the door locked shut and we were surrounded. Don't even know where they came from, it just happened.'

"Damn." Clemont cursed. "You guys too, huh?" He looked to see Luxray doing pretty well on its own for being out of its element. Clemont covered the communicator with his hand. "Luxray, use Electric Terrain! The lay down some Thunders!" Clemont ordered. Luxray turned his head and nodded before covering all the immediate area with burst of lightning and electricity.

"What's going on over there?!" Clemont finally asked.

~Pokeball Factory~

~South End~

Over on the south end, things were going more or less the same for them. Everyone was being pinned down by varying numbers of grunts, though no one had lost yet. Max and his Grovyle were standing strong against the attacking Exxecutor and Marowak. Abel and his Mega Altaria were firing Draco Meteor's like it was going out of style, Mairin and Alain were fighting two grunts, armed with a Magmortar and Electivire, with Alain's Charizard and Chespie, Though Charizard was doing most of the work. Finally, Team Rocket, with their newly accquired Houndour and Scyther, and Meowth, were fighting back more than several others.

"Grovyle, use X-Scissor!" Grovyle crossed its arms across its chest and lunged forward at the opposing Marowak and collided with its chest, knocking the little monster back a few meters.

"Exxecutor use-"

"Moonblast!" A different voice called. From the corner of his eye Max saw a blinding pink light fade into a single thick beam that continued to shoot past him and hit the grunt's Exxecutor. The resulting blast left the pokemon wobbling to its feet before finally giving in and falling backwards onto Marowak. Max looked to see Abel running towards him. "Max!"

"Abel!" He called back. "Where's Minun?!"

"He wanted to take on one of the girls on his own." He hitched a thumb towards a scene where Minun was currently doing little flips around a defending Ivysaur while giving small electric shocks whenever he got a window.

"Why doesn't he just end it?"

"Because he wants to have fun. Besides-"

'Are you still there, Max? What's going on?' Clemont asked. Max held up a finger to Abel to silence him.

"Yeah. Couple more down. But they just keep coming." Max reported. Max took a check to see if everyone was succeeding with their battles. What troubled him, however was that he soon found several 'employees' wheeling giant tubes towards them on large hand trucks. They were heading steaight for Team Rocket.

"Clemont, I think things just got a whole lot worse." Max reported. "Those tubes that they've been keeping prisoners in,"

'Yeah...' Clemont responded.

"I think they just brought in a few portable ones." Max said distressed. "They're headin' for Jessie and James."

'Go help them!' Clemont ordered.

"Yeah, yeah, we're going." Abel responded before Max could. "Minun!" He called over his side causing the little Pika-clone to turn his head towards him. "End it." He ordered. Minun gave a slight nod and let out a powerful Thunder attack knocking the quadruped out, slumping back on its rear.

Unfortunately one of the other grunts, a female with long black hair, caught wind of what they were attempting. "Tyranitar, Rhydon!" She called throwing two pokeballs in the air. When the two towering pokemon were released they turned towards their trainer. "Stop them!"

"Come on!" Max said running towards Team Rocket and gesturing for Grovyle to follow him. Grovyle nodded and jumped into the air attempting to close the gap between himself and Max. As Max was running ahead, a giant rushed its way towards Grovyle body slamming into him mid-air and sending him flying through the air. Max noticed and came to a stop. "Grovyle!" He exclaimed retracing his steps.

"Hey, you big lug! Take this!" Abel interrupted. "Altaria use Moonblast!" Altaria reeled back its head and surrounded itself with a pink energy.

"Tyranitar Protect!" The biggest pokemon out on the field at the moment began stomping its way towards Rhydon. Once in place it pounded her fists together and generated a giant blue shield that veiled herself and Rhydon, who was still beating on Grovyle. The moonblast was finally released and collided with the shield bouncing clean off of it and deflected at an eighty-degree angle.

"Hey!" Abel protested.

Over with Team Rocket, a proud looking Vileplume stood over James' defeated Scyther, who was laying spread-eagle on the ground and an opposing Wigglytuff was just finishing off Jessie's Houndour. Meowth was busy fighting on his own against a Drifblim. With a single uppercut the Wigglytuff claimed its victory over the poor Houndour.

Jessie and James returned their fallen pokemon as the remaining grunts advanced on them. One grunt grabbed Jessie by the arms. Another put his hand on James' shoulder and shot him an intimidating glare.

"Vileplume, sleep powder." A female grunt ordered calmly.

"Meowth, a little help?!" Jessie screamed. The Scratch Cat pokemon turned just in time to see his friends be hit with Vileplime's Sleep Powder.

"Jessie! James!" Meowth yelled. He scratched his opponent in the face and jumped into the air, landing on the Drifblim's anterior end and pounced right off into a sprint towards his friends. He wasn't fast enough though. Soon after he began running, he felt what felt like cloth wrap around him. He looked back to see Drifblim looking down at him. "Let me go, you bag of farts! Those are my only friends! I knew we shoulda stayed out of this!" He yelled struggling in the grip of the balloon pokemon.

He watched in horror as one grunt threw James into a pod that had been rolled over towards them and again as another person slung Jessie over her shoulder violently, supposedly to do the same thing.

"Hey show some respect! Those are respected members of Team Rocket, you nimrods!" Meowth yelled.

"Is that Meowth insulting us?" One grunt asked leaning towards another. "Do we take him too?" He whispered to the girl carrying Jessie on her shoulder.

"Boss said not to take in any pokemon. Just the people." The girl answered setting Jessie in a pod of her own. She slammed the door to the tube shut and turned towards the captive feline. "Drifblim, let him go." She ordered. "You," She pointed to the boy next her. "take Will and wheel these two inside. I'll stay here and help round up the rest."

"No!" Meowth yelled. Drifblim slowly loosened its grip around him eventually dropping the little guy back to the ground. "Give them back!" He lunged at the female grunt just to be slapped back down to the ground by the girl.

"It's nothing personal, purely business. Be happy the boss is giving you mercy." She ordered. Behind her two grunts began wheeling the new captives back inside. Meowth shook his head once before turning on his heels and running.

Max was still having trouble with Rhydon. Despite having the type advantage, his Grovyle was simply too underleveled and undertrained to face an opponent like that. "Grovyle we need one last push! Leaf Tornado!" A gust of wind kicked up around Grovyle as he was surrounded by a tornado of leaves, twigs, and other flora. With all his strength he pushed the tornado forward. As the move collided with the Rhydon, Grovyle sidestepped around the larger pokemon and reunited with Max on the other side.

Suprisingly the Rhydon shook it off and pivoted around to face both trainer and pokemon who both took back up their fighting stances. "Grovyle use-" Max was cut off by the Tyranitar Abel was facing, falling over and landing right on top of Rhydon revealing Abel and Minun standing victorious.

"Timber." Abel remarked. He carefully stepped around the titan and strode up to Max. "That's two more down. How we doing?"

"Not good. They just keep coming and I'm all out of potions." Max responded. "Once Grovyle's down, I'm defenseless."

"Hey kid!" Max and Abel turned to see Meowth running towards them. "They took Jessie and James. This wasn't part of the plan!"

"Then there's that." Max added turning to Abel. "They must be taking them to the other captives. This could actually work in our favor. If Professor Sycamore could find the grunts wheeling them around, they could lead him straight to the others!" Max claimed.

"Yeah, just one problem." Abel said. "We can't reach them from out here. The building's still jamming the signal."

"Minun." The little mouse squeaked climbing Abel's body and perching himself onto his head.

"Someone will have to go in after them. Then tell the professor of the new plan." Max said.

"That's suicide." Meowth argued. "All alone inside that building? You'll be captured and tubed in seconds!"

"What alternative is there?" Abel asked.

"I'll go." Everyone turned to see Alain and Mairin walking towards them. "Just finished off the last of our ambushers. Need another challenge. Besides out of everyone here, I'll have the most chance of surviving if I get seen."

"I'm going too." Mairin said. Chespie nodded in agreement from her arms. "Wherever he goes, I go."

"Alright. Mairin and Alain you guys go inside and notify the professor. Abel, Meowth and I will circle around a meet back up with Clemont's team. They're probably still fighting. Once we're finished there, we can storm the place ourselves and hopefully find you guys." Max said. "Did you get all that Clemont?"

'Loud and clear. We're actually just about finished and-' He was cut off. 'What is it Bonnie? Where? Hey! Let go of her!'

"Clemont?!" Max asked. "Please don't tell me-"

'They've brought out the pods! They've got Bianca! If you're gonna help, I'd hurry! Luxray, Wild Charge!' Max could hear a number of blasts and explosions go off in the background.

"You heard him." Alain added. "We'll be fine. He needs your help more."

~North End~

A male, dressed in all black with bright red hair, had just finished throwing Bianca in the first of the stasis pods brought around to the north end on the dollies. He turned back around to find a Luxray, covered in electricity, charging towards him. "Aw shi-" Clemont's Luxray slammed right into him before he could finish knocking him backwards onto his side. With the grunt out of the way, Luxray advanced on Bianca's pod.

"Hyper Beam!"

Luxray snapped his head to the left and saw a giant, multicolored laser coming right for him and a Metang staring him down. He turned to run away, but was already too late and was blasted out of the way before he could reach Bianca's tube.

"Luxray!" Clemont called he immediately ran off after his pokemon leaving his sister, who was battling alongside Dedenne, behind. "I'm coming.!"

"Dedenne finish it off with Nuzzle!"

"Ne!" The little mouse jumped and latched itself onto an opposing Octillery and let out its most powerful electrical spark, effectively ending the battle between the two. "Nee." She dropped herself off the fallen Octillery and made her way back to Bonnie.

"Way to go! Told you we could handle ourselves, big brother!" She turned around to find her brother gone, though. "Clemont?" She asked checking her surroundings. "Clemont?!"

"Hey kid. All alone?" Bonnie turned back around again to see a giant man staring down at her. He reached down and picked the little girl up with ease. Bonnie immediately began kicking and screaming.

"Let me go you jerk! Picking on a little girl, do you have any decency?!" She screamed. "Dedenne, get him! Nuzzle!" Bonnie ordered while still struggling. Dedenne latched to the bigger man's left leg and began releasing as much electricity as it could. The man looked down at the rodent and simply shook his leg violently sending the little pokemon flying. "Dedenne! You're gonna pay for that!"

"Personally, I'm against this whole 'capturing little kids' thing. But this is bigger than you know." The giant replied. "Don't worry, the boss isn't near as cruel enough to hurt a kid, he just wants you out of the way."

"Well, we'll just see what my big brother has to say about that." Bonnie said sticking her tongue out. "Clemont! This big jerk wants to lock me up!" She called.

Clemont snapped back towards Bonnie and saw the giant carrying his sister towards the set of pods. "Bonnie!" He yelled. He quickly recalled his fallen Luxray and sprinted back the way he came towards the giant. "Clembot, I'm out of pokemon, come help me!" He heard no agreement. "Clembot?" He looked over his shoulder and found a decapitated Clembot lying on the ground next to his Heliolisk who Clemont assumed must have fainted. 'I'll have to rebuild him later.' Clemont thought to himself. 'At least this time he can probably keep his memories. Looks like I'm on my own.'

"Let my sister go!" Clemont yelled charging at the man. Behind him another grunt, a woman with short black hair grabbed Clemont by the collar as he ran by, jerking him back as he struggled.

"Sorry kid. We have our orders." She told him.

"Then just take me, let her go." Clemont pleaded still trying to yank himself out of her grasp.

"Boss said both of you needed to be caught above everyone else. The fight you put up is commendable but-" Suddenly she let go of Clemont's collar and fell over, dropping him to the ground and as he landed on his side, he looked over at the girl in a struggle of her own as a green and black dog-like pokemon thrashing her.

"That can't be-" Clemont started. "Zygarde? Squishy, is that you?" Zygarde turned to Clemont and nodded before getting off the girl. The legendary pokemon growled in inquiry at the inventor. "Forget me. That guy's got Bonnie!" Zygarde nodded once again and dashed off to save Bonnie. Clemont braced himself with his arms and tried to hoist himself up onto his feet when he felt something grab his ankle.

"Where do you think you're going, punk?" His attacker said tightening her grip. "Sicking a legendary pokemon on me? What the hell is wrong with you?" Clemont kicked his foot in the girl's direction but for a someone who was laying on her stomach, she was surprisingly good at dodging.

"I did tell you to let go." Clemont shot back. "Maybe you should have listened." She managed to, despite Clemont's resistance, pull him back into her grasp and climbed on top of him pinning him on all fours.

"Well now I'm mad. I was gonna let you go painlessly before but now," She used all her strength in one punch as her fist collided with Clemont's face. "No one messes with Libia Tusk." She snarled. "Get me a pod over here, got another one!" She yelled before punching Clemont again. "Now, say goodnight, jerk." She reeled back her fist once again.

"Pip lup, lup lup!" Libia looked up to find a little Piplup gliding down from the air while firing a barrage of bubbles at her.

"Hydro Pump!" The voice of Dawn called. Clemont turned his head as much as he could in his current situation and could barely make out a blue haired girl riding above him on a whie pokemon.

While Libia was temporarily blinded by the bubbles in her face, she was hit with a powerful blast of ice-cold water knocking her off of Clemont. The scientist gently rolled himself onto his stomach and sure enough found Dawn dismounting her Togekiss and running towards him.

"Clemont!" She yelled coming to a stop in front of him. "Are you okay?" She asked offering a hand. Behind them Piplup was still firing beams of water at Libia relentlessly. Clemont took the bluenettes hand as she used her strength to help him to his feet.

"I'm fine, thanks to you. When we couldn't reach you, we figured they had already captured you." Clemont explained. "Now that you're here maybe we can-"

"Do you know a way inside?" She asked while returning her Togekiss.

"Uh...yeah there's a back door on the other side of the factory, but I don't-"

"Thanks!" She said sidestepping past him and rushing away. "Come on, Piplup! There's a back door!" Piplup stopped his barrage of Hydro Pumps and nodded before quickly waddling after his best friend.

"Wait! Dawn!" Clemont called. He looked to his left to see Squishy had reached the giant man holding Bonnie.

"Squishy!" Bonnie yelled from under the big man's arm. "You're here! Any chance you could help an old friend out?"

"Is this yours?" The giant man asked.

"Not exactly. But I'd put me down if I were you." Bonnie said smugly as Zygarde just glared at the big man.

"I have my orders. You're to be captured. I promise we won't hurt your friend." He said. Zygarde gave one growl before glowing a brilliant light green and in an evolution like transformation grew fives times it's ten percent form's size. Then with a burst of light his fifty percent form was revealed. It slowly lowered its head and met eyes with the man who was currently slightly shaking in what Bonnie assumed to be fear. Slowly, Zygarde opened its mouth and began charging it up with an unknown purple element.

Still being held under the man's armpit Bonnie looked up at the man with a triumphant smile. "I think he wants you to put me down." Bonnie advised with a smug grin. At that moment Max, Grovyle, Meowth, Abel, and Minun ran around the corner and both skidded to stop in front of the scene.

"An actual Zygarde?!" Max said. He pulled his glasses off his head and began cleaning phantom dust off of them. "I don't believe it."

"Look big guy," The man reasoned. "I don't want any trouble-" He was interrupted by Zygarde firing a powerful Dragon Pulse at the man's head. It only grazed the side of his face, just enough to disintegrate some of the guy's hair, leaving a mess of uneven hair behind.

"There's always a bigger fish." Bonnie taunted. "I don't think he'll miss you next time."

"You do realize that's a legendary pokemon right?" Abel commented.

"Not just any legendary," Max added. "If I remember correctly from the 'Mythological creatures of ancient Kalos and their roles in the world' book I read, he's the guardian of Kalos's ecosystem." He said pushing up his glasses. "He normally doesn't show himself unless the ecosystem is in crisis."

"So, why's he here?" Abel asked.

"Because he's my friend!" Bonnie called.

"Look, I'm putting the little girl down." The man said. "Don't do anything hasty. We can still all be friends here." He gently set Bonnie back on her feet and took a step back. "See? I'm not all bad. I don't even really want to be here."

"Ne!" Dedenne now finally back to her feet wobbled back over to Bonnie "Ne!" The little pokemon bawled. Bonnie got to her feet and rushed to meet her pokemon halfway.

"Dedenne, are you alright?!" She picked up the little mouse gently. Dedenne gestured to her left foot and shook it gently. "You're hurt? Zygarde, he hurt Dedenne!" She whined looking up at the giant serpent. "Show him what it's like to be picked on by someone bigger than you!" She ordered as she gently placed Dedenne back in her purse.

Zygarde lifted his tail up just above the ground and swung it into the giant man sending him flying backwards into a faraway bush. Bonnie ran forward and lunged at the base of Zygarde's abdomen, hugging it tightly. "Did you come just to rescue me?" Squishy once again glowed lime green and this time reverted back to its core form, jumping into Bonnie's arms. "Aw, I missed you too!"

"Bonnie!" Clemont yelled. She turned around just in time to wrapped in a hug by her big brother. "I thought they were gonna take you too." He let go of her. "They already took Bianca."

"Miette seems to have disappeared, too." The voice of Molly Hale said as she reunited with the rest of them with her Teddiursa following close behind. "We were caught up with our own battle and when I looked next, she was gone."

"They've got Jessie and James too!" Meowth cried.

"And it's possible Alain and Mairin have been captured too." Max finished. "On the bright side, I think we beat 'em all. We can probably head inside now."

Molly pointed a single finger to the sky. "I wouldn't be too sure. Looks like there's two more left." Everyone followed her finger, and sure enough descending from atop the roof were two pokemon.

Two Darkrai.

"Luxray fainted." Clemont said. "And I'm out of items. Clembot's out of order, too."

"I'm not so sure how long Grovyle can hold out either." Max said.

"I've got my pokemon bur no items." Abel chimed in.

"I've still got my Teddiursa and Flaafy." Molly added.

"And we've got Squishy!" Bonnie said letting the little core onto the ground. "He can fight! Besides, it's just two pokemon."

"Don't be so optimistic." Max interjected. "Those are Darkrai. Legendary pokemon and masters of nightmares. One hit from them and you'll be trapped in your darkest dreams!"

The front door to the factory opened once more to reveal three newcomers. The one in the middle, a boy with short black hair, took the lead and began walking towards the group.

"So, you've made it this far. You've got quite the fight in you, but I'm sorry to say that, like your friends, The Boss has ordered your immediate capture. I see you've met my pokemon. That's Nightshroud and Ebony." He said gesturing to his pokemon. "And once I beat you, we'll finally be free."

~Pokeball Factory~

Alain and Mairin were sprinting down a long hallway with several goons chasing after them, right on their tail.

"I don't think I can keep running for much longer!" Mairin yelled turning towards Alain.

"We have to." Alain said calmly. "We may have told the professor already, but I don't fancy those tubes. Keep running!"

Mairin began panting heavily and slowing down dramatically. "I can't." Beside her Alain skidded to a halt. The two had reached a crossroad. The corridor split into two more, both leading to an unknown parts of the factory.

"It would really help if they put signs up in this place." Alain said. He got an idea. Obviously Mairin couldn't keep running and these guys weren't giving up without a fight. "Do you trust me?" Alain asked.

"Of...course..." She said between breaths. Alain looked behind to see the grunts catching up to them fast.

"Go left. See if you can meet up with one of the other groups. Just try and stay out of sight and you'll be fine."

"But what about you?"

"I'll go right. I'll lead them away giving you enough time to catch your breath and get away." Alain explained.

"But you'll be captured!" Alain checked behind them once again. The lackeys were getting closer.

"Maybe. But better me than you." He argued. "Chespie you with me?" Alain asked. Chespie nodded. He jumped out of Mairin's arms and ran down the left hallway beckoning Mairin to follow.

"That's low. Using my pokemon against me." Mairin growled.

"Whatever works. Now go!" He pushed her gently towards Chespie. "You have to keep up with him or you'll lose him too." Mairin nodded and ran down the left hallway. Alain took a few steps down the right hallway and turned around. The three grunts came to a stop at the split in the road.

"You don't want to go after some civilian, do you?" Alain taunted. "Surely, the energy source of the Kalos Champion will prove much more valuable in the long run. Come on, prove your worth. I bet I can take all three of you at once." He turned back around and sprinted down his chosen hallway with the 'employees following close behind.

He continued like this until he came to the ultimate middle finger, a dead end. "Oh, come on! What's the point of hollowing out a portion of a giant factor, to make a hallway, if it's not going to lead anywhere?!" He didn't have to turn around to know they were right behind him, he could hear their footsteps come to a stop. "Well," He said facing them. "looks like it's the end of the road...for you." He said pulling out Charizard's pokeball.

He was surprised when no one else took fighting stances, instead one just stepped forward and pointed at the ceiling with a single finger and gestured upwards. Alain followed the trail to find a giant pokemon sticking upside-down to the ceiling. It was a short red, brown, and silver, quadruped with heavy metal armor on various parts of his body.

"What is that?" Alain asked turning back to the grunts.

"A Heatran." The man replied.

"Why is it on the ceiling?"

"Use flamethrower." The grunt ordered.

~Pokeball Factory~

~Cafeteria~

Ash and Serena were in the cafeteria that Kane had lead them to. He and Aipom were currently off doing their daily round, but had given them Kane's card to order whatever they wanted. Ash dumped his tray down the garbage and set the tray on top of the can.

"Too bad you didn't bring some of your pokepuffs along." Ash complained. "The food here tastes so institutional."

"Yeah, it wasn't that good, was it." Though Serena didn't expect much more. She wouldn't be surprised if they somehow poisoned her food. But she couldn't worry about that right now. Right now, she had to figure out how to find Braxien and get her out of whatever hellhole these madmen were keeping her in. And how to convince Ash to go along with it without spilling the beans about his new 'friend'. "Hey, do you think Aaron would let us explore the factory ourselves? Just for a little bit?" She asked.

"I don't see why not. Maybe when we come back with Pikachu." Ash responded. "You know it's weird, this all seems too good to be true."

"You think?" Serena mumbled.

"What was that?"

"I said-"

"Hey!" A foreign voice said. "You're Ash Ketchum!" Serena and Ash looked to their right where a young boy with short brown hair and the organization's uniform, was running up to them.

"You know me?" Ash asked. It was weird for Ash to be talking to one of the organization's members. Although he was told he was an 'honored guest' Aaron and Kane had been the only ones to talk to him. Even when he tried to instigate a conversation, they were always too busy.

"You came second in the Kalos League a while back. You were great! I'm Meech Uh...why are you here?"

"Oh! Aaron invited me here to help me." Ash answered. "We're just passing through. In a couple of hours. we'll be leaving."

"Aaron?" The boy asked tilting his head. "Who's that? Honestly, I'd leave if I were you. I've heard the Boss doesn't take too kindly to trespassers."

"You work here, but you don't know your boss's name?" Serena asked. "Aaron is your boss, right?"

The boy's eyes widened. "My boss?" Meech asked in a panic. "As in the organization's boss? You've been speaking to him!?"

"Yeah, he's been a huge help-" Meech leapt forward and grabbed Ash by the shoulders. Ash tried to pull back but the boy's grip was surprisingly strong.

"Listen. If what you say is true, you need to leave. Now." Meech narrowed his eyes and looked around for anyone else. "Whatever help he's offering, you don't want it. Leave now, before he traps you here." He said shaking Ash gently.

"What are you talking about?" Ash asked pushing the boy off of him. "He's been nothing but nice to me. He's even healing my Pikachu. He doesn't seem like the trapping type."

"Haven't you noticed that the workers around here are mostly younger people? He is not who he seems!" Meech yelled in a maniac manner. "Leave behind the hope of healing your Pikachu!"

"What?! No!" Ash fought back, glaring at the boy.

"Then you're already his prisoner!" Meech pointed at Ash.

"Maybe you should sit down, Meech." Serena suggested. "You're hyperventilating." Deep down she knew the boy was speaking the truth, but until Braxien was back in her custody she promised herself not to say anything.

"Oh no. I have to go." Meech said. He pushed both Ash and Serena apart knocking them to the floor and ran out of the room in a panicked manner. Ash and Serena slowly got back to their feet.

"That kid needs medication." Ash said fastening his hat back onto his head. "Poor guy."

"Not a very loyal work force." Serena added dusting herself off. "Do you think he may be right?"

"I don't know, Meech definitely believes what he's saying, he was almost too convincing. I have some questions for Aaron but I'm sure everything's fine." Ash said turning back to her. "Come on, we'll go clear this up with him, then go home and get Pikachu." He said making his way to the cafeteria exit.

"But you don't believe him?" Serena asked catching up with him.

"I don't know. Like I said, Aaron may seem a bit creepy what with the 'watching me for a long time' deal, but he's done nothing but help me. And who knows, maybe the kid's schizophrenic?"

"Ash, do you even know what that means?" Serena asked.

"Nope. It sounds terrible, though." Ash shrugged. "Let's go, the center is this way." Ash said pointing ahead of him.


	14. Everybody's Splitting Up

~Hall of Origins~

Arceus stood in her usual majesty in front of her vat that acted as the window to the material world. Around her were her children at various spot around the perimeter. Her lake guardians floated to her left, Mewtwo stood to her right with Celebi and Shaymin sitting on his shoulders, much to his chagrin, and at the opposite side of the vat hovered Cresselia, and Darkrai (the one Ash met in Alamos). They were watching a scene of Ash and Serena traveling down a dark corridor rippling through the liquid.

'So, it seems the chosen has finally grown a brain.' Mespirit observed. ''Bout time.' She chuckled. 'I thought he was just gonna keep those blinders on forever!' She began giggling heavily while covering her mouth with her tiny hands.

'Stow your tone, jokester.' Mewtwo spat. 'As of right now, he's Kalos's hope. His friends have failed in their plan. No thanks to those Darkrai.' He looked to the vat and the scene changed to Clemont and Bonnie being attacked by Nightmare while Ebony was firing blasts of at Zygarde.

'My brothers are not to blame.' Darkrai countered. 'They found that trainer worthy and he betrayed that honor.' He said with his voiced laced with venom. 'I told them not to-'

'That boy,' Arceus interrupted at the vision in the vat zoomed in on the boy with black hair. 'is as much a victim and a prisoner as those in those terrible pods.' Her stern voice effectively silenced Darkrai.

'On the bright side, it looks like sending Zygarde to help was a good choice. He saved those Lumiose kids.' Celebi chimed in from Mewtwo's shoulder. 'Without him they'd be with the others in those insufferable tubes.'

'Makes you wonder what would happen if we took a more active role, huh?' Mewtwo deadpanned.

'You needn't dance around the issue with me, Mewtwo. I know exactly what you're saying and what you think of my most recent decisions regarding the chosen.' Arceus replied turning to the genetic pokemon.

'Then maybe you should do something!' Mewtwo growled. 'I'm tired of standing here! Let me go down there!'

'If we do send someone down it should be someone else.' Shaymin interrupted from Mewtwo's other shoulder, 'Someone more reliable. More discrete. Myself? Maybe Latias? Even Mew would be better than you.' It scoffed.

'Latias is not in the best of spirits right now. She has refused to meet with me after watching Bianca be imprisoned in the way that she was.' Arceus said. 'Perhaps she should've been given permission due to the circumstances, but we cannot change the past.'

'So you acknowledge we should be helping?!' Mewtwo pressed. All heads turned to Arceus who just shook her head.

'Latias's helping Bianca would be one thing, but I stand by my no interference rule with the chosen.' Arceus said. 'We mustn't fight his battles for him. There would be no validity to his title if we did. He must find the strength himself.'

'But we still could send someone to help those fighting against the wayward Darkrai.' Shaymin continued. 'What of Mew?'

'Mew has taken a vow of non-involvement.' Arceus announced. 'He doesn't see it as his place and much prefers to spend his time protecting the Tree.'

'And myself?' Shaymin asked doing a little flip of Mewtwo's shoulder and quickly transforming into its Sky Form and whizzing up to Arceus. 'I could go.'

'You, my child, are hardly up to the task of two well-trained Darkrai.' Arceus said. 'I believe Zygarde will be sufficient for this task.'

'If anyone goes, I do.' Mewtwo interrupted. 'End of discussion.'

Shaymin growled before glowing blue and white. Now back in her Normal Form, she slowly descended back onto Mewtwo's shoulder. 'Surely, I'm better than something made in a lab!'

Mewtwo's eyes began to glow purple at the last comment. Before Shaymin could react, she was engulfed in a psychic force and thrown backwards against the wall, knocking her out. 'Prima donna.' Mewtwo scowled. 'Nobody likes you anyway.' He muttered under his breath. He raised his head back up to find all eyes on him. He looked over to Arceus to see her just shaking her head.

'What?'

'Back to business,' Arceus said. 'we must have faith in Ash. He is the chosen one, not us. However, I have a proposition you may find as a nice compromise.'

'That being?' Mewtwo inquired to his superior. The vat changed scenes with a ripple once again transforming to show a man dressed in the same suit as the factory workers carrying a woman, who was slung over his shoulder.

'Aaron is still collecting more victims throughout Kanto, Sinnoh, and Kalos.' Arceus reported. 'It would be beneficial if he we could cut off his supply of captives. If it would make you feel more at peace you may 'go blow off some steam' as the humans say.' She told him. 'Take a team of six, split into pairs, and have each pair choose a region. Your mission is to protect anyone targeted by these poachers. Do you accept?'

Mewtwo chuckled. 'Oh, yeah. I've been waiting for this.' He said pounding his fists together. 'Who's going with me?'

'Latias's mind is clouded. I believe she would benefit much from this. Deoxys has gotten restless as well after young Tory joined the fight as well. Take him as well. Darkrai will go too.'

'Me?' Darkrai asked. 'Why?'

'Because Sinnoh needs help.' Arceus answered. 'And you're able. Do you need more of a reason?'

'Done.' Mewtwo replied. 'I'll take Latias and leave for Kanto. Deoxys and Darkrai can head over to Sinnoh. What of Kalos?'

'Xerneas and Yveltal can handle Kalos. You are to leave immediately.' Arceus ordered.

'Leave it to me, then. I'll have Kanto back in order in no time.'

'See that you do.' Arceus nodded. With a wicked laugh Mewtwo teleported out of the room, causing Celebi to descend downward slightly before catching herself and floating back up.

'Was that truly wise?' Cresselia asked. 'We all know Mewtwo to get a bit...carried away. You don't think he'll do anything he'll regret, do you?'

'Mewtwo is passionate. That much is true, but I have faith he can control himself. Keeping him holed up here would've done him no good. He was only getting angrier and angrier. This way he's doing something productive.' Arceus replied coolly. 'And with them working together, the kidnappings will slow down considerably.'

'But what good does that do for those already captured?' Celebi asked.

'That is up to our chosen one's friends.' Uxie observed. The scene in the looking vat changed to show Professor Sycamore, Tory (with Plusle and Minun on his shoulders) and Trip running down a hallway.

~Pokeball Factory~

The professor, Trip, and Tory were all hustling down the long dark corridor hoping to meet up with whoever was wheeling Jessie and James around. Alain had told them around where the grunts should be and they were working hard to intercept them.

"They can't be much farther." Tory panted.

"Who knows?" Trip input. "We don't exactly have a clear vision of where we're going, now that the plan's changed."

"Quiet boys." Sycamore said. "Alain? Can you hear me? Alain?" The professor flipped a switch on his earpiece changing the frequency of his communicator. "Mairin?"

'Professor!' Mairin's voice said from the other line. 'I've lost Alain! I completely forgot I even had this thing! I'm scared. Chespie and I have no clue where we are!'

The three came to a crossroad. The hallway ended there but split into left and right. From Tory's shoulder Plusle's ears twitched rapidly. She grabbed ahold of the puffball strings attached to Tory's sweatshirt and began pulling them grabbing his attention.

"Plu." She said pointing to where the corridor split off to the right.

"Someone's coming?" Tory asked. As soon as Plusle nodded her head he began hearing voices as well. HE looked around and saw a utility closet to his left. "In here!" He violently pushed Trip into the closet and he closely followed behind. Getting the message, Sycamore turned off his communicator and ducked behind a giant box conveniently placed in front of him. He gently peaked around the side and Trip opened the utility door slightly and took a look discretely as well.

A group of five grunts, two wheeling pods, in the left Jessie and the right James, and three walking free beside them. Trip smirked and turned to Tory. "I've got an idea." He said. "Chances are with five alert grunts, they're going to notice us following them. I'll lead a couple of them away."

"I don't think that's a good idea. Both on your own and outnumbered?" Tory inquired.

"I can handle ten of 'em if need be." Trip said confidently. As soon as they got directly in front of the professor, he made his move. He pushed the door open and stepped out slamming it in Tory's face behind him. He gave a smirk before clapping loudly twice. The five turned to see him cross armed staring at them. "Can one of you tell why you seem to have my colleagues in tubes?" He threw a pokeball into the air revealing a Chandelure. "We don't take too kindly to kidnappers."

The five grunts looked at each other before the one wheeling James' pod spoke up. "You three stay here and subdue the kid. Will and I'll take these jokers to the others. We'll send a pod back here immediately for the brute." The man said continuing right.

Trip grabbed a hold of one of Chandelure's branch like arms and it floated him over to the other three grunts who all let out their pokemon. Taking the hint, while the grunts were occupied with Trip in the left corridor, Tory slipped out of the closet and ran down the right with Sycamore following close behind.

"Sorry kid, Boss has ordered all intruders to be podded and sent straight to the others." One of the men said.

"So I've heard." Trip replied. "Only one problem with that plan, you have to beat me first!" He chusckled "Chandelure, Fire Blast!" The lamp pokemon created a giant ball of fire and fired it at the grunts who each had out a Politoed, Crustle, and a Ledian. It exploded on the three pokemon in the form of a giant kanji. The smoke cleared to show Crustle protecting itself with protect, Politoed standing strong and Ledian on her back, out cold. Trip let out a chuckle. "Five seconds in and you've already lost a third of your team. Tell me again about your plans to capture me."

One of the grunts gritted his teeth loudly. "Together." He said turning to the other grunt with a concious pokemon who nodded in return.

"Crustle Rock Wrecker!"

"Politoed Hydro Pump!"

"Meet it head on with your best Shadow Ball, Chandelure." Trip said pointing at the impending attacks. "Show them who's better."

XXXXX

Anabel, Pikachu, Kidd, and Ritchie (and Sparky) were walking at a somewhat quick pace. Anabel, with Pikachu atop her head, was leading the way with Ritchie right behind them and Kidd walking backwards, on alert, bringing up the rear. It had come across all their minds at one point that it was weird that they had met no opposition yet.

Anabel came to a stop abruptly and reached out with her left arm. She closed her eyes gently and reached out with her mind. Ritchie, not paying attention, slammed into the back of her and knocked himself onto the floor. Sparky, luckily, saw this coming and jumped off Ritchie mid-fall to avoid any inconvenience.

"Why'd you stop?" Ritchie asked.

"Pikachu." Sparky added.

Anabel didn't answer. She just stayed unmoving in front of the other two. Anabel's eyes shot open and she let her arm rest back at her side. She turned to the mouse sitting to her left. "You hear anything, Pikachu?" She asked the little rodent.

"Pika." He said shaking his head. "Chuu."

"Good, we have to keep moving. Ash is that way." She said pointing to her left. "And he's filled with confusion. Something tells me that doesn't bode well for our cause."

"Pikaa." The little mouse cooed. Anabel resumed her pace and Ritchie and Kidd fell into step behind her.

"What if it's a trap?" Kidd asked. "They know we're looking for him. They could have us outnumbered and outgunned. I'm good, but normally I'm not taking on an organization with a team of three."

"We don't have any choice. The longer Ash is away, the more danger he and all of Kalos is in. If you two are as good as you say you are, we should be fine." Anabel responded. She noticed their current path split into three separate paths ahead. "We're going straight."

Ritchie picked up speed to catch up with Anabel he came to her side and slowed back down to walk beside her. "So you never really told us how you know where Ash is."

Anabel chuckled. "I can feel him. Or, at least, I can feel his presence. I can also feel his confusion, it's overwhelming."

"So, you can feel people's presences? Then you should know if anyone's with him. You should know if this is a trap." Ritchie said.

Anabel shook her head. "At this distance, without concentrating, no. I can only feel Ash."

"What makes him so special...besides the obvious of course?" Kidd asked.

"I don't exactly know." Anabel responded honestly. "If I had to guess, my feelings for him somehow amplify my abilities. Make me concentrate on him more than usual."

"That's so sweet." Kidd said.

Ritchie let out a loud groan. "This again. I swear. Every time he spends more than a day with a gal, she falls in love with him. First Misty, then there's that Elekid girl I ran into,"

"Wait. Misty?!" Anabel interrupted. "Really?"

"Oh yeah." Ritchie said. "Right Sparky?" The little rodent nodded once. "Once Ash moved on to Hoenn, you couldn't have a conversation with that girl without her bringing him up. Then when you ask her if she's in love, she says they're soulmates."

From Anabel's shoulder Pikachu snapped his head to the left. "Pika?" He inquired softly.

Anabel let out a single laugh. "Well at least I know I don't have to worry about her competition."

"That's not exactly fair. What makes you say that?" Ritchie shot back narrowing his eyes.

"Guys, maybe we should calm do-" Kidd tried.

"I know Ash's REAL feelings about Misty." Anabel gloated. "And she dug that grave herself. Why do you think she isn't here?!"

"I thought she was busy." Ritchie answered honestly.

"Guys I think someone's coming and-" Kidd interrupted again.

"Too busy to help her soulmate?" Anabel cut her off. "Oh, yeah, they were so meant for each other." Anabel quipped.

"What is your-"

"Hey! You!" The group turned to see an slightly older man, maybe of 18, with a clipboard under his arm glaring at them. "You're those intruders the boss guy wants." He said grabbing a pokeball.

Kidd facepalmed. "I knew your arguing wasn't going to end well." She sighed.

"Well then why didn't you say something?" Anabel asked. Beside her Pikachu shook his head murmuring little 'Pika's'.

"Charizard!" The foreign man called. "Let's do this!" He yelled releasing the giant dragon. "Mega Evolve!" He called. His Charizard glowed a bright white and began his temporary metamorphosis. He began to grow secondary wings on his arms, the horns on the back of his head grew in length along with growing a third, and the webbing in his primary wings grew more jagged. He also began growing in stature.

"You say Ash is that way?" Ritchie asked turning to Anabel who just nodded in return. "Then go find him. I'll take care of the old man!"

"Are you sure?" Kidd asked. Anabel and Pikachu had already taken off, leaving Ritchie behind, content on finding Ash. "I can help."

"I wouldn't offer if I didn't think I could handle it. Just bring Ash back safe." Ritchie ordered reaching into his pocket, pulling out a pokeball with a star sticker on it. "Happy! Let's do this!" Ritchie threw a pokeball into the air and let out his Charizard, once just a short, shy Charmeleon compared to his current form. "This is gonna be fun."

Kidd nodded once and turned around running after Anabel. "Anabel! Pikachu! Wait up!"

"Brave of you to stay behind. You realize you're doomed right?" The man taunted. "You'll go down here, and it's likely that your partners in this crusade have already faced a similar fate. Our boss is unbeatable."

"Nice story." Ritchie shot back. "Let's even the playing field, shall we? Mega evolve!" Like his opponent Ritchie's Charizard began glowing brightly and began growing in size. Horns started to sprout from his shoulders, his mouth blew up in blue flames, and his horns grew longer. Most significantly, when the light faded the once bright orange Charizard was now a dark grey. "If I know Ash, and I'm pretty sure I do, beating and locking up all his best friends won't make him too happy with you."

"In a couple of hours, his plan will already have played out."

"Couple hours, huh?" Ritchie retorted calmly. "Gives us plenty of time to do what we do best, then."

"And that would be?"

"Save the day." Ritchie answered simply. "And besides, as long as I win this fight, you won't have us all, right?"

'Ritchie, you good?' Anabel's voice asked over the communicator Ritchie had collected from Bonnie.

"Yeah, all good. Just about to wipe the floor with this fool!" He said regaining eye contact with his attacker.

"You got spunk kid, I'll give you that. I can see it in your eyes." The man shot back. "But failure here is not an option."

"FLAMETHROWER!" Both Ritchie and Aaron's subordinate yelled at the same time. Both Charizards fired bulky beams of molten lava at each other colliding smack dab in the middle of Ritchie and the grunt. The two dragons grounded still belting out red-hot fire, at the center of the collision, the two beams were fighting fiercely for dominance.

XXXXX

Mairin walked slowly down a long, dark hallway, holding Chespie in her arms. Luckily, ever since Alain ditched her, she hadn't run into any more resistance. On the other hand, though, she had no idea where she was going or what to do. As far as the plan goes, she was supposed to be with Clemont but she just had to follow Alain inside.

"Professor?" Mairin called through her comm. "Come on, please pick up." She begged to no avail. She let out a huge sigh. "Stupid Alain." She muttered. "Leaving me and you all alone in this terrible place. I hope they catch him."

"Pin?" Chespie asked from her arms.

"Of course, I don't mean that!" Mairin shouted back. "I'm just frustrated. How could he do that to me? How could you do that to me?"

"Chespin." The little pokemon said.

"I forgive you. I just wish I knew what to do next." She told her partner.

"Are you sure?"

Mairin turned around quickly to see the shadow of someone coming. "Someone's there." Mairin whispered to Chespie. "Come on!" She gripped Chespie tighter and sprinted down the hallway she turned a corner and slammed her back against the wall. She carefully set Chespie down and squatted down and slowly looked around the corner. She quickly saw a girl she'd never seen before come into focus.

The girl had blue hair covered in a white beanie and a black and pink dress shirt with a very short skirt. "I didn't hear anything." The girl said. Behind her a Piplup came out from behind her and pointed a single flipper towards Mairin's direction.

"Pip! Piplup!"

"Alright, if you say so." The girl responded, shrugging at the little penguin.

Mairin retracted her head back around the corner and turned to Chespie. "She doesn't look like one of them. Maybe she's looking for a friend too."

"Chespin!" Her companion scolded.

Mairin took another quick look at the foreign girl. "But she's not even wearing one of their uniforms. Maybe they could help us. And even if they are against us, you've got the advantage, it's a piplup." Mairin told him. "They're coming this way. We don't have much of a choice, Chespie."

Chespie shook his head back and forth very rapidly in protest. "Chespin!" He responded tugging on Mairin's shirt. "Ches!" He said pointing down the corridor.

"I'm tired. I don't think I can outrun whoever this is." She said turning to Chespie. "If you're so intent on them being the enemy, we should take the shot while we still have the element of surprise."

"Eh em." Mairin turned around and Chespie looked up and saw the girl they were thinking about attacking standing over them.

"Lup!" Piplup said taking a fighting stance. "Pip!"

"Calm down, Piplup." The bluenette told her friend. "Maybe they're cool. I'm Dawn, this is Piplup." She said gesturing to the unrelenting penguin. "Who're you?"

"Mairin. This is Chespie. Do you work here?" Mairin asked.

Dawn offered Mairin a hand. "Nope. And by the looks of it, neither do you." Mairin nodded and took her hand, hoisting herself up.

"If you don't work here, why are you here?" Mairin asked,

"The person who runs this place, whoever that is, sent a bunch of goons after me and my partner Paul. They kept talking about 'insurance' or something. Thanks to Paul I got away but they took him, and Jenny said there was nothing she could do so..."

"You decided to do it yourself?" Mairin offered.

"Well I couldn't just leave him. I love him." Dawn said simply. "But this place is a labyrinth! We were hoping on finding an employee and forcing him to lead us to Paul, right Piplup?"

"Pip-lup" The penguin nodded.

"But we found you instead." Dawn finished. "What's your story?"

"Me and Chespie came here with our friend Alain to save another friend, but when we were spotted, he made Chespie and I leave him behind while he held them off. Who knows if he's podded by now?" Mairin explained.

"More of the same, I see." Dawn said. "Tell you what, I'm searching for where they're holding Paul." Dawn said. "If they did catch your friend, I bet he's being held in the same place, so how about you and Chespie come with us?" She said offering her hand once more.

Mairin looked to Chespie then back at Dawn and nodded. "Deal!" She said shaking her hand. "But where's that?"

"I don't know." Dawn said. "But I'm guessing someone around here does."

"How do you know anyone will comply? What do we do?"

"Always ask nicely first," Dawn told her. "That's just simple humanity. But, say that doesn't work," She slammed a fist into her palm. "we move on to negotiations. Come on, let's find one of this madman's lackeys." Dawn moved past Mairin and took the lead down the hall with Piplup trotting closely behind her.

"Told you." Mairin said to her pokemon partner. "I like her. Come on!" She said rushing after Dawn. "Maybe we'll find Ash, too."

XXXXX

Serena and Ash were making their way back to the heart of the factory to meet with Aaron one last time before they left. Ash, particularly, was dreading this interaction. Mostly because he couldn't think of what to say. Meech had told him all these things about Aaron that just seemed weird. If it was true then...well he didn't actually know what to do then, but how could he even bring it up without offending him.

Serena was having similar thoughts with the difference of the fact that she knew he wasn't who he was telling Ash he was. Her first priority wasn't Ash right now, though. It was Braxien. "So, Ash, how're going to bring up what Meech said to Aaron?"

"I don't know. Ash said. "First I'm going to ask if he's found my pokemon yet. If he hasn't, something's definitely up."

"Did you hear?" Serena turned to see two men in lab coats walking the opposite direction. "About the Charizard?"

'Charizard?' Serena thought to herself. 'It couldn't be...' She came to a stop and turned to see Ash walking forward unaware of anything else around him. She jogged up to Ash and tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey Ash,"

Ash turned around. "Huh? Oh, uh...what is it?"

"I need to use the bathroom. I think we passed one on our way here." She lied.

"Oh. I guess if you need to, we can go back." Ash said. "Where did you see one?"

"Actually," Serena said. "Why don't you go talk to Aaron. I'll be fine." She said. "I remember exactly where it is." She glanced quickly behind her to see the men turn a corner and move out of her sight."

"Oh...okay. If you say so. Are you sure you-"

"Thanks Ash!" She interrupted running down the hallway. "I'll see you soon!" She called behind her. She ran around the same corner to find the scientists turning again, this time taking a right. She sprinted ahead and stopped at the turn slamming her back up against the wall. She peaked her head around the corner to find the two scientists had stopped moving.

"Are you sure, Jax? There's no way any Charizard is strong enough to overpower three Gyrados without breaking a sweat."

'Maybe not an ordinary Charizard,' Serena thought to herself. 'But Ash's Charizard...'

"Listen they called us back to the lab to help detain the bastard. You'll see for yourself." The man apparently named Jax said. "He's been so troublesome that they haven't even had a chance to look at the other two pokeballs."

"If you say so. Let's go." The other scientist said.

'Two other pokeballs means Braxien and Noivern too!' Serena realized. 'Gotta follow them.' She decided. "I'm coming Braxien." She promised. "Just you wait."

Ash just stood in place looking in the direction his friend had run off in. It was a weird feeling. Not only was he completely alone, no friends, no family, not even a single pokemon with him, but he had a sinking feeling in his gut that something big was about to happen. He had no idea why he had this feeling.

Maybe it was because he was in an unfamiliar place, maybe it was because everyone around him was acting weird including his friend who would normally never decline the offer of him joining her somewhere even if it was just to walk her to the bathroom. Besides, she hates being alone in old factories. Whatever it was, he just couldn't get the feeling to go away.

"I'm probably just stressed." He shrugged. He turned back around and continued down his set path to left turn.

'Pika!'

Ash's eyes widened and he snapped his entire body in a 180-degree motion. He scanned the hallway ahead of him carefully. "Pikachu?" He asked. "Are you there?" He stood there still for a good minute before turning back around. "I must be going nuts. Pikachu doesn't even know about this place. Why would he be here?"

Ash continued on until he hit a large door connected to a familiar circular room. The heart of the factory. Ash carefully opened the door to find Aaron sitting in his chair yelling while typing on his computer.

"What do you mean an unknown pokemon?!" Aaron yelled. "Describe it to me!" He ordered. There was a dense pause between his orders as Ash just tilted his head. "You idiot! That's Mewtwo! How could you not know that, Jo?! Recall all grunts from the area. You've already lost." He yelled slamming his fist on the desk. "Butler what's the status on those two stowaways?" He asked. "Up on the main screen now! Put up camera one as well"

The monitor lit up with a set of camera footage. On the left and right were boys Ash knew he had seen before but needed a closer look to be sure. The boy on the left was fighting off a horde of pokemon with a single Chandelure. On the right a battle between two mega Charizards was going on. But above those two images was another feed playing out. And he immediately recognized the siblings portrayed there. It showed two blonde siblings hiding behind a large, powerful pokemon who was firing off Dragon Pulses like it was going out of style.

'Clemont?! Bonnie?! Zygarde?!' Ash thought to himself. He wanted to storm up there and as what in Arceus's name is going on but he found he couldn't move.

"Have Hobbes and Jean move in on the blonde boy. That should be enough to silence him. I want Sketchy and Skeezy to go and help Noble and his Charizard. The others will fail soon enough." Beside him an alarm sounded off from his computer. Aaron reached for his comm and hit the green button on it.

"Sir frontier brain and the chosen's Pikachu are headed your way. She" A voice said. "We tried stopping them but they dodged every hyper beam we shot at them."

'The chosen's Pikachu!? My Pikachu?! He attacked him?!' Ash thought to himself. Every drop of blood he had began boiling inside him.

"Aaron?" The chair swung around quickly and he was met with the tired eyes of the man that he thought was his friend. But if he was his friend, why was he attacking his other friends?

"Ash!" Aaron said conforming his face to a smile. "I didn't hear you come in! Why didn't you say something?" He quickly activated his comm. "Ix-nay on the een-scray." he whispered.

"No need. I was watching you." Ash said simply. "Watching you attack my friends. That's Clemont and Bonnie!"

"Oh, they're your friends!" Aaron said trying to put on his best facade. "I had no idea! Unfortunately, your friends broke in uninvited and attacked my employees-"

"You attacked Pikachu? My Pikachu?!" Ash demanded

"Oh. You heard that." He said. "Now Ash..." Aaron warned.

XXXXX

In another part of the factory an Electivire's powered up, electricity ridden fist collided with the face of Trip's Chandelure. Chandelure flew backwards onto the floor and slid back many feet towards its cornered trainer. Trip quickly returned the fallen pokemon and whipped out another pokeball.

"I didn't think I'd have to resort to the big guns but...oh well" He smirked. "Serperior!" He whipped his hand back, ready to unleash his most powerful pokemon. His wrist, however, was grabbed before he could whip the pokeball. He looked behind him to see a large man looking down at him.

"Name's Hobbes. And you've been beat."

The man glared at Trip and tightened his grip around his wrist. Trip let out a sigh of pain as the pain caused him to lose his grip and drop Serperior's pokeball to the floor. It rolled a couple inches on the floor before coming to a stop. "Hey!" Trip yelled at the larger man. "Give Serperior back! Do what you want with me, but you can't just leave him there!"

Hobbes, still holding Trip, looked to the opposing Electivire's trainer and nodded to him. The other man picked the pokeball back up and made his way towards Trip. "Don't try anything stupid." The man ordered. He reached over and set the pokeball back in Trip's pocket.

"Now what happens?" Trip asked.

Hobbes laughed. "You said we could do what we wanted with you. We're taking you to where we keep all the others."

"Great." Trip deadpaned.

XXXXX

The two Mega Charizards collided in the middle of the field with a giant explosion pushing Ritchie back towards the wall and surrounding everyone with smoke. Ritchie and Sparky both began coughing violently and started waving their hands trying to get the smoke around them to go away. "Did Happy win?" He questioned.

"Kaa." Sparky added.

When the smoke cleared it revealed that hovering in the air was...no one. Ritchie tore his gaze away from the air and looked to the ground to find both Happy and the opposing Charizard lying on the floor unmoving.

"Looks like a tie." The older boy said. "This is very unexpected. You're very good."

"Thanks, I guess." Ritchie said returning Happy. "You're not so bad yourself. If we weren't on opposite sides maybe-" Ritchie was cut off mid-compliment by a powerful gust of wind. He braced himself and planted his feet as best he could as the wind began pushing him back. Ritchie's opponent turned to see both a Salamence and a Druddigon forcing as much wind as possible towards Ritchie next to him.

"Gotta...resist..." It was only seconds before the wind caused Ritchie's foot to lose its place and Ritchie was forced into the air. The two pokemon kicked up the power and the resulting wind pushed Ritchie swiftly back into a wall.

He hit the wall with a loud slam and slumped down to the floor as the pokemon ceased their attacks. "Pika!" Sparky barked. He rushed over to his best buddy stopping at his left side. "Pika!" Sparky pleaded pulling on Ritchie's shirt. As Ritchie felt himself begin to lose consciousness, he looked up one more time at his opponent.

"I played my part." He said weakly. "Just don't hurt Sparky." He pleaded. Ritchie fell forward flat onto the floor slamming his chin on the way.

"Are you insane?!" His opponent screamed at the newcomers. "That's a kid you just knocked out. This wasn't part of the deal!"

"Calm down Noble." Sketchy said. "Boss said to detain him, so we did."

Sparky got on top of Ritchie's back and took a fighting stance as his cheeks began to crackle with static. "Chuu!" Sparky let out his best Thunderbolt and shot it directly towards Sketchy. It collided with the man knocking him onto his back. "Pii!"

"Sketchy!" Skeezy yelled. He turned back to the mouse and growled. "Salamence, knock the rat out!" Skeezy ordered. The Salamence reared back its head, then snapped it forward letting out a powerful flamethrower. It hit Sparky directly, effectively silencing the mouse pokemon. Sparky collapsed on all fours, unconscious on top of his trainer.

"That was excessive, don't you think?" Noble asked glaring at Skeezy.

"Just return the rat. The kid's got to have its pokeball on him. Then we can add him to the collection."

"Add them to the-" Noble started. "Oh, no. I'm not going to be a part of that again. My orders were to stop his progress, not hook him up to one of those infernal devices your boss has horded away somewhere!"

"Really, now? I hear whoever delivers this boy to the boss gets a reward beyond riches. Still want no part?"

"Reward? What reward?"

"What's the one thing you've wanted since you got here?" Skeezy asked.

Noble looked to his feet. "Alright, I'll do it." He submitted dejectedly. "But not happily."

XXXXX

"Now Ash..." Aaron warned.

Ash stood still glaring at Aaron as the elder man tried to explain himself. "Why would you fire Hyper beams at Pikachu?!" Ash demanded. "Where is he?" Ash continued.

"On his way here apparently." Aaron shrugged. "They're quite persistent. If you let me explain my side, I'm sure you'd begin to feel a lot better."

At the peripheral sight of a giant explosion Ash snapped his head towards the computer screen. He ignored the next words that came out of Aaron's mouth and rushed forward towards the personal computer, pushing Aaron to the ground as he rushed. He came to a stop in front of the screen just in time to see images of a young blonde boy being violently shoved out of the view of the camera.

"That was Trip." Ash stated. "What's he doing here?" Ash thought out loud. He turned his attention to another part of the screen to see a large man grab a brunette boy by the hoodie with one hand and sling him over his shoulder and walk out of view as well. "And Ritchie. I'd know that guy anywhere. What's going on with them?" He looked to the last splitscreen where Zygarde and two Darkrai were in a tug of war of sorts with their energy beams. He also noticed Max, Abel, Team Rocket's Meowth, and what looked like a slightly matured Molly Hale. On the bright side, at least they were doing well. Then it hit him. If Meowth was there, that meant Jessie and James were too. And if they were separated then... He turned around swiftly to face Aaron.

The elder man lifted himself off the ground and dusted off his shoulder. "I really wish you hadn't seen that." Aaron said.

"What are you doing to them?" Ash demanded once again. "Where did you take my friends? Ritchie, Trip, Jessie, James, Pikachu-"

"Calm down, your friends are fine. As I was saying before you interrupted me, a little context here might go a long way." Aaron said. "I admit, I may not have been entirely truthful with who I am or my ambitions with the KRA, but that was entirely necessary." He told him.

"Start talking. The truth this time." Ash ordered.


	15. Aaron's Explanations

~Heart of the Pokeball Factory~

Ash and Aaron stood across from each other in the heart of the remodeled pokeball factory. Ash ready to throw punches and Aaron remarkably calm for someone who was minutes away from being beat to a pulp. In fact, he didn't seem to mind at all. He just smirked at the younger boy and gestured for him to move to the left. He continued past Ash and took his place back at his computer.

"Quick question. Did it ever occur to you that maybe your friends are in the wrong in this situation?" He asked the rage filled teenager.

"Nope." Ash replied instantly. "Get on with the explanation."

"Ash I already told you I've been watching you for a long time, ever since your first league to be exact, and that's because I had an epiphany of sorts."

"A what?" Ash asked.

"Basically, I came to a realization. You see, back then I had just begun work on the KRA and it would have been completed sooner if I had the help I needed from the beginning. You see Kalos needs a firm hand to guide it to the paradise it has the potential to be."

"...You mean to rule it." Ash corrected. "You want to be a dictator, don't you?" Ash didn't need even minutes to figure that out. He had faced enough wannabe dictators to last a lifetime, so he had picked up how to spot one by their vocabulary. And right now, Aaron was sounding like one.

"Why the bad attitude? There's nothing inherently wrong with dictatorships. As long as they're done right everyone can thrive. So I had been traveling to different regions looking for a specific type of person, a person like you." Aaron told him. "And I have special plan for you my friend."

"Friends don't attack their other friend's crippled best friend with multiple hyper beams!" Ash shot back. "And after you knew his story too!"

"You may not believe me when I say this but I had no idea my employees would go as far as to attack your friends." Aaron told him. "Whoever it was who fired those shots will be punished accordingly, it just goes to show that alone I can't keep control of the KRA. That's why I need you."

"And what could you possibly need from a fifteen-year-old boy who is this close to hating your guts?" Ash asked gesturing with his fingers to emphasize the point.

"Ash, after all I've done for you, allowing you to take refuge in my factory, helped you with your murder situation, helped nurse Serena back to health, gave you a chance to heal your Pikachu and get revenge on your mother at the same time, how could you hate me?"

"You're attacking the only family I have left, that's how. I'd gladly go to whatever fresh hell awaits me just for them to avoid any pain." Ash countered. "The good times do not cancel out the bad! Now answer me, why me?"

"I need a successor. I won't live forever, Ash, and I need someone competent enough, and worthy to continue when I'm gone. You've been searching for a calling ever since the incident in Kanto and I can give it to you." Aaron said. "I can't just have any old person run this place, it has to be an aura-sensitive."

"So why attack my friends? What's your reasoning there? Oh, and if I don't like your answer-"

"You'll beat me up?" Aaron guessed though it wasn't much of a guess since he knew he was right. "I doubt it. Anyway, your friends, whether you want to believe it or not, are not saints in this endeavor. Breaking and entering, assaulting my underlings, damage of property, to keep them from doing further damage to my factory and employees, I needed them restrained before they did some permanent damage. It's entirely possible someone did try and explain the situation to them but they didn't want to listen. You've already seen how Serena talks to me even after I helped her."

"That's...true, I guess." Ash admitted. "But I'm sure she has a reason. She's really a sweet girl."

"Anyways, back to your question," Aaron added. "During my brief search for a successor, I ended up in the Kanto region. I decided to sit in for a couple rounds of the Indigo League to rest my feet. That's where I first saw you. Nobody else felt it, but even at the young age of ten, aura was spilling out of you."

"So what? I sure there were lots of people spilling out aura." Ash said.

"No. I only felt you. Then I had a vision. I saw the man you were destined to become. Tall, strong, influential, and I knew, thanks to that vision, that you would be my successor! When I die, the KRA will be yours!" Aaron exclaimed. He calmed and cleared his throat before continuing. "Sorry. Got a little carried away there. You may have lost the league that day but you won my attention. Every time a league would release the list of its participants to the public, I would scan for your name and if I saw it, I would fly out just to watch you. To see how you'd grown and if you were ready."

"Well I hate to break it to you, but I'm not born to be a dictator. Not even a leader." Ash said. "I may not know exactly what I want, but that's not it."

"Ash, my friend, no one else can fill this position." Aaron countered. "No one else has the kind of power you have. No one has the fighting spirit, no one has the bond phenomenon, no one has the strength, no one but you."

"Sorry but I'm going to find Pikachu." Ash said turning to leave. "I want no part in this."

"I think you're forgetting a few things." Aaron smirked. He turned his chair around and began typing on his personal computer rapidly. He took his pointer finger and pressed down a big red button holding it there. "Vat 1 to the Heart, please." He said.

'Right away, sir.' a voice responded.

"Thank you." Aaron smiled. Around them, a loud whirring sound began taking over the room once again and one of the large circular pads located at the far right of the room began descending into the lower levels. It remained that way for a minute before slowly coming back up to the surface with a giant tube filled with Delia's stolen aura. Ash quickly looked away trying to forget that he ever committed that crime. "I'm the only one who could help your friend." He reminded Ash, turning back around.

"So that's how it's gonna be? You're going to hold my best buddy's health over my head?" Ash glared at him. "Why can't you just find it in your heart to help him?!"

"I will find it in my heart to help him...if you stay by my side." Aaron replied.

"...Well forget it!" Ash finally decided. "I'll find another way to help Pikachu." He said turning to leave once again. He looked over his shoulder quickly. "I don't need you. If I have the aura within me, I know I'll find an alternative."

"What if I could give you the secret to everlasting youth?" Aaron tried. "Ash, I'm being very generous here. This practice is known by one person in the entire world, me. Think about it. You and your friends would never age. You could spend eternity together."

"Let me guess, we'd have to steal that youth from someone else. Am I right?" Ash asked without turning around.

Aaron nodded (not that Ash could see.) "Yes, that's correct. Everything regarding aura is always a give and take." Aaron replied. "But if we take the aura from the scum of the world, murderers, abusers, traitors, then is it really that wrong?"

"Tempting, but I've caused enough pain, even if those I caused pain to kinda deserved it." Ash said.

"Ash, I really didn't want it to come to this, but you leave me no choice. I have one more offer. If you decline, I'll let you go no strings attached." Aaron said.

Ash pivoted around to face Aaron. "Now you're talking. Come on, let's get this over with." Ash ordered.

Aaron, once again, swiveled his chair around and began typing on his keyboard. He hit the same button from earlier and leaned forward. "T, I've sent you a list of holding chambers I want sent to the Heart immediately.

'Yes sir, anything else?'

"Just continue with your work, T." He lifted his finger of the button ending the conversation. "I'm sorry it had to come to this, Ash."

The same loud noise from before engulfed the room once again. Ash covered his ears trying to block out the noise, to no avail. "Come to what?!" He asked trying to talk over the noise. To both his left and right more circular pads began to sink below to go where Ash assumed he kept the vat that held Delia's aura.

When the many pads came back, they were accompanied by the same stasis tubes Delia had been held in, the difference, this time, being who was held in them. Ash began to scan them one by as he turned in a circular motion.

In the first one was a familiar, unwelcome sight of an unmoving, orange haired girl from Ash's past wearing the same yellow, button-across top, red undershirt, and tight fitting yellow shorts from their time journeying together.

The second held the jungle girl Ash traveled Unova alongside in her usual outfit except she apparently had ditched the bow-tie sash she once wore.

Next to Iris was Ash's other Unova traveling companion. Ash knew immediately from the obvious giveaway of his green hair. Dressed up in his connoisseur suit, tie, and dress shoes it was obvious he hadn't changed much in the wardrobe department either.

The fourth held Max's older sister May dressed in her same green and orange outfit from their meetup in Sinnoh, but more importantly from the day she betrayed him.

He hadn't cared too much up to this point, and who could blame him? But as he kept turning the people in the tubes kept growing more and more important to him. First, he saw Jessie and James, just as he suspected, they would be.

Then, he saw familiar frontier brains Tucker, Greta, and Lucy, and boy did it look like time hadn't been too kind to Greta. All three were dressed in their frontier brain outfits. There was Serena's rival Miette, Bianca all the way from Alto Mare, even Kalos Champion Alain was in one, and Ash assumed that's what's happening to Trip and Ritchie at this very moment.

A million thoughts were going through his head. Why had he gone after so many of his friends? How was he able to capture three frontier brains and a champion? If he was able to capture such powerful opponents, what else is he capable of? If he went after Paul, then he had to have gone after Dawn too. Was he going after Serena? Anabel? Clemont and Bonnie? Then his eyes landed on the final two tubes. Those two arguably shook him to his core the most. He began shaking in anger.

Inside the next pod was his longest time traveling companion and practically his brother, Brock. And in the final tube was once again, someone who had basically become a brother to him, Paul. He forgot all about Aaron and rushed to Brock's chamber. He skid to a stop in front of the tube and began banging on the glass "Open up, you damn tube!" He ran over to the side of the holding chamber and found where the pod would open from. He grabbed the seam and began pulling violently. "Let him out!"

He switched his focus to Paul. He ran up to the pod and began banging once again. "Paul! Wake up, man!" He pleaded. He growled and reeled back his fist before slamming it into the pod. "Aaaahh!" He screamed in half in pain and half in frustration, backing away from the prison.

"It's no use." Aaron said from his seat. "There's no way you can break through that glass. Now that you realized what's going on-"

"I still don't know what's going on!" Ash screamed. "You attacked my Pikachu, tried to blackmail me into joining you, and now I find out you've kidnapped half of my friends and put them into aura-suction pods! And all the while, I have no idea why!" He ranted.

"I told you, I need you. And I'm willing to do anything to get you by my side, Ash Ketchum." Aaron said leaning forward. "I tried being nice and helping you out with your problems, but you were taking too long to accept my offer. Of course I lured your friends here even before you set foot in the factory but if I could've avoided using them I would have. Now my final offer. You join me and not only will I help your Pikachu, not only will I help you with your murder case, not only will I give you the secret to eternal life, but I won't hurt your friends."

In just a few seconds, Ash came to another realization "You're holding my pokemon captive too, aren't you?" Ash countered. "You have Charizard and Noivern."

"Sorry, Ash, I really was going to give them back right away, but your friend got to nosy for her own good. Had to have something to keep her quiet." Aaron replied.

"Serena knows?" Ash asked.

"Oh yes. She knew before she even came to the factory, but that nasty hypnosis, who knew it would have such side effects?" Aaron chuckled.

"I can't believe this! Has every word since I met you been a lie?! I should beat you here and now!"

"Think wisely." He told him turning back around. "T, you can bring them back to their holding cells now." He ordered into the comm. "And prep Mr. Stone for extraction. Who knows when I'll need some more healthy aura."

'Yes sir.' Around the two the pods began descending back underground starting on the right with Misty and making its way left to Brock.

"Brock!" Ash called. "Bring them back!" He said turning and glaring at Aaron. He took one more desperate attempt to open Brock's pod as it was sinking down under. "I'll do it! I'll do what you ask of me, just let them go!" He watched as Brock disappeared into the lower levels and was replaced by the plain circular pad from before.

"Good." Aaron said. "I think we're on the same page now." He smirked.

~Lower Levels~

Professor Sycamore and Tory tiptoed carefully up to a turn in the hallway as Plusle jumped off Tory's shoulder and rushed ahead. She peaked her head around the corner to find the two employees caught up in a conversation. She turned back to the others. "Plu. Plu." She said gesturing for them to come forwards with her stubby arm. She ran back to Tory and quickly climbed back onto his shoulder.

"I guess that means we're good to go." Tory said. The two turned the corner to see the two grunts ahead of them. They continued as quietly as possible a good distance behind them.

Ahead of them the others were too busy in conversation to take notice of them. "The boss better follow through with this promise. I don't want to be here anymore."

"What choice do we have? It's not like we could've walked away from the offer. Not with everything at stake." They continued wheeling down the hallway before taking a right down another path.

"Come on, my boy. We have to keep moving." Sycamore said. They quickly followed them around the corner to the sight of the two grunts stopped in front of a heavily armored door. "That must be it." Sycamore whispered.

"Are you sure?" Tory asked.

"Look. See that?" Professor Sycamore asked pointing ahead. Tory turned his head to the wall surrounding the door as it flashed purple in random spots periodically. "That's Trick Room. This is it." He watched as the grunt on the right activated the retina scanner and opened the door. "Uh oh."

"Uh oh? Why uh oh?" Tory whispered back. They watched as the two grunts continued inside the room ahead of them. "I thought you said this was it."

"That's a retina scanner." The professor informed him. "We can't open that door." They rushed forward to the door the grunts had disappeared into. "Without the eye of an authorized personnel, the door won't open."

"Anabel, can you hear me?" Tory called into his comm. "We've run into a bit of a problem. There's a retina scanner. The professor says we can't get in. What now?" There was a pause of silence before the frontier brain's answer came.

'Lay and wait.' The voice of Anabel responded. 'We've lost contact with Ritchie. It's likely that they captured him and are on their way towards you right now. Find a place to hide and once they open the door again rush inside. And try to be secretive about it.'

Tory turned towards the elder man next to him. "How do we sneak in without them noticing us right behind them?" Tory asked.

Sycamore rubbed his chin in thought with his eyes closed before opening them abruptly and snapping his fingers. "We won't. They will." He said pointing at the two pokemon on Tory's shoulders.

"I'm not sure I follow." Tory said.

"Simple. Only Plusle and Minun could follow close enough behind them and be quiet enough to not be noticed. There shouldn't have to be a retina scanner on the other side, so all the have to do is find whatever switch open the door and hit it. The door will open, we'll reunite, and continue with our mission."

"What if they can't open it? We can't just leave them in there. Someone might find them and hurt them."

"If too much time goes by, we'll have to move on to plan b. If they can't open the door quietly, I'll just have Garchomp blast the door down. Now come on, I think I saw another turn nearby. We can hide there until the grunts arrive." Sycamore said.

~Main Floor~

Two men dressed in long, white, lab coats stood in front of a pair of sliding doors, deep in conversation. Just around the corner, spying on the two, was Serena. She had followed them all the way to what she assumed was the lab they were keeping Charizard in. And if Charizard was there, Braxien might be too. Then she can finally let Ash know what's going on around here without any fear for her companion.

"So, you ready?" One of the scientists said turning to the other. "If this Charizard is really as strong as you say he is, he'll probably take us out with one shot."

"Yeah, but the boss'll pod us if we don't try." The other said. "So come on." They took a step forward and the automatic doors in front of them slid open allowing them through, then closed behind them. But for the few seconds the sliding doors were open, Serena was sure she could hear a loud roar coming from inside.

'Now if only I could go in without them freaking out.' Serena thought to herself. "Why can't anything ever be easy? Or at least my forte? Why does it always have to be a battle?" She ranted quietly, to herself.

"I swear I saw two people in lab coats go this way!" A voice Serena was very familiar with said. "They have to know where they're hiding everyone." Serena was under the impression that the only people who knew she was here were those who were in the room when Aaron first addressed them. So she was extra surprised to see two of her closest friends round the corner. Both of whom were not present for Aaron's show and tell.

"Dawn! Mairin!" Serena yelled running out of hiding. "You're here!" She exclaimed.

"Serena?!" Dawn said, just as surprised. "What are you doing? I thought you'd be with Ash!"

"You know Serena?" Mairin said turning to Dawn. "I thought you said you were looking for a guy named Paul?"

"Paul's here?! Where?" Serena gasped.

"Whoever runs this place-" Dawn started.

"Aaron." Serena quickly corrected.

Dawn sighed. "Right. Aaron sent a bunch of goons after us. I tried fighting back but they overpowered me. Just as they were about to take me in Paul offered himself up instead."

"How did you know where to even look?" Serena asked.

"Before they took off Paul was granted permission to give me a quick hug. When the embrace ended, I felt plastic in my hand. Once the two teleported away I looked and found this in my hand." She pulled out a small piece of rectangular plastic.

Serena rook a second to look at it. It was a basic grey card with a giant Pokeball Factory logo on it and a phone number at the bottom. "A business card? How?" Serena asked.

"He's quite the pickpocket." Dawn sighed. "Shortly after I got here, I met up with Mairin who said she was looking for a friend too."

"Don't tell me-"

Mairin nodded. "It's probable they got Alain too."

"But why were you and Alain here, Mairin?" Serena asked.

"Clemont and Anabel called people from all across the world for a rescue mission for you and Ash using a list of people he had kept in his contacts. Apparently, Alain was one of them. But we got separated and now..." She shook the thought away. "What about you? Where's Ash?"

"With Aaron. I haven't been able to warn Ash about him because the jerk kidnapped Braxien and hid her away, hopefully in that lab. He's got Charizard too."

"Ash's Charizard?" Dawn said. "Are you sure?"

At the sound of a wilhelm scream, all three girls snapped their heads towards the lab just in time to hear a loud thud up against the door from the other side. The doors parted, revealing the two men Serena followed to the lab on the floor unconscious right before them.

"I'm sure." Serena deadpanned.

"Well, our best source of information is inside that room too, so I suppose we can lend a hand." Dawn smirked.

"But who knows how many are in there? Are you sure we can handle it?" Mairin asked.

"What kind of half-baked question is that?" Dawn said smacking Mairin's back playfully. "On three." She said turning to Serena who nodded. Mairin open her arms releasing Chespie to the ground. "One...two...three!"

The three girls rushed through the automatic doors, jumping over the two unconscious scientists. They came to a quick stop to assess the situation. The room was painted pure white with all sorts of tubes and conveyer belts located all around but the most eye catching was in the very center of the room, surrounded by pokemon of all types and sizes. Charizard, who was busy smacking away a bunch of smaller pokemon with his tail. He smacked an oncoming Breloom, Cradilly, and Graveler knocking them back into a wall.

"Charizard!" Serena called. Charizard averted his gaze over to the blonde before launching himself off the ground and gliding over to the entrance. He landed in front of Serena. He leaned forward showing something in between his teeth. "Is that your pokeball?" Charizard gave a quick nod. He spit the ball out into Serena's hands. "Ew, it's covered in your slobber!" She shrieked.

Charizard turned his head around to look over his shoulder to find a Chansey and Gloom coming at them. He fired a quick flamethrower at the two stopping them in their tracks. Dawn and Mairin took the hint and stepped forward with their Piplup and Chespin to hold off incoming attacks.

"Piplup use Whirlpool!"

"Chespie, Pin Missle!"

Meanwhile Serena was rubbing his pokeball against her pants quickly. "Do you know where Braxien and Noivern are?" She stuck his pokeball into her pockets before looking back at the dragon. Charizard gave another nod and held both his arms out revealing a single pokeball in each. "Only you could've fought for so long without the use of your hands of your fire type-moves."

~Outside – North End~

In the sky both Ebony and Nightshroud were firing Dark Pulses at Squishy. The two beams met up around halfway to the legend colliding to create one bigger pulse. Squishy was currently fighting with his best Dragon pulse. Meanwhile everyone was busy elsewhere. Clemont and Bonnie were taking shelter behind Squishy since they were out of pokemon.

Meowth was doing his best to Scratch and Payday as many grunts as possible as a small part of his revenge for them taking Jessie and James. He jumped up at the closest boy and gave a single swipe across his face. "I'm gonna make you people my new scratching posts!" He creid raining many cold coins down on the heads of several of his opponents.

Max was currently ordering his Grovyle to do several attacks at once against the opposing Kangaskhan. "Use Bullet Seed. Rush towards him!" Grovyle reared his head back before snapping it forward and shooting a barrage of seeds at Kangaskhan the launched forward. "Don't stop those seeds! Add a leaf blade!"

Without stopping his Bullet Seeds Grovyle's arm blade grew in size and glowed a luminescent green. Seconds later he collided with Kangaskhan with a direct hit. Kangaskhan didn't move. She simply looked down at Grovyle with angry eyes.

"Focus Punch!" Her trainer called. Her left fist quickly glowed white and she pulled back before full-force punching Grovyle in the face. The gecko flew backwards landing several feet back and skidding on his side, stopping in front of Max. The boy knelt down and began to shake Grovyle. "You okay, buddy?" He pulled out Grovyle's pokeball and returned his faithful friend. He sprinted towards Zygarde and came to a stop behind the giant pokemon. "Grovyle's out of it. I can't revive him either."

"We're done too." The three turned to see Molly running towards them with an unconscious Teddiursa wrapped in her arms. "This is starting to look pretty bad. There's just too many."

Abel took a few steps backwards to join the group. "I'm still good to go." He smirked. Ahead of him a stray Ice beam hit Tropius in his wings, causing him to plummet from the air and smack the ground. Abel quickly returned Tropius and turned back to the group. "Nevermind."

"We still have Squishy!" Bonnie yelled. "He'll save us!" How wrong she was. Every grunt began to circle around the group cutting off any escape route. The Darkrai's trainer came forward through the moat of trainers. "Everyone, fire on Zygarde!" He said pointing to the Dragon. From all sides, moves of all types and damages began to bombard Zygarde.

"Squishy!" Bonnie and Clemont yelled in unison.

"And...stop." The trainer ordered. All attacks began to die down leaving only the battered legendary in the spotlight. Zygarde began to waver slightly until it fell head first into the dirt, completely out of it. He glowed lime green and quickly shrunk considerably in size until he was in its canine twenty percent form, the glowed again this time devolving into its core form. Bonnie stepped forward and picked up the beaten Zygarde and placed it in her purse.

"Hands in the air people!" The Darkrai's trainer ordered. "We're taking you to the boss!"

"Is that everyone?" Clemont whispered. "No one has a single pokemon left?"

"I still have Jirachi," Abel said gesturing to his pocket. "but against all of them? It'd be suicide. He can't face them all on their own." He whispered back. Max snapped his fingers. "I've got a plan. Don't tell them Jirachi's still conscious, Abel. If anyone asks you had five pokemon."

"If you say so." Abel responded.

"Hey! No whispering!" He yelled. "You got something to say, say it to me!" Everyone just stood in silence for a moment. "That's what I thought.

~The Heart~

Ash and Aaron watched the screen as it played the image of Clemont and his rescue team being beaten, surrounded, and herded inside the factory. Ash was getting angrier and angrier with each passing second and Aaron could feel it.

"That's enough of that." Aaron said reaching to shut the monitor off. "No need to watch any further." He said.

"I hate you." Ash said with venom. "I really, really hate you." He repeated.

"So rude." Aaron said. "They may just be words but they can still hurt." He said putting his hand to his heart and feigning hurt feelings.

"Well, what now? You prep more pods and lock them up too? Just keep up that routine until I don't have any friends left?" Ash glared at the elder man.

"Well," Aaron said pressing his fingers together. "if it bothers you that much, I suppose we can make a deal, I'm a reasonable man, of course." He smirked. "Tell you what, if you can convince your friends to join the KRA also, I'll let them out."

"Even if I did take that deal, they'd never go for it." Ash shot back. "Not unless you have incentive over them too."

"Not yet." Aaron said. "But I'm working on it. Tell me, you wouldn't happen to know Serena's last name, would you?"

"You're kidding, right?" Ash asked. "You can't be that stupid."

"Of course, I'm kidding. You'd never cooperate now that you think I'm a 'bad man', would you?"

"You are locking up all my friends." Ash retorted.

"Yes, but it's all for a good cause. The good of the few cannot outweigh-" Aaron was cut off by a giant explosion coming from the entrance to his workspace. Through the smoke came three figures. The first being a slender purple haired girl in a suit and tie and a familiar duffle bag slung over her shoulder, the second being a little mouse fitted with the best prosthetics money could buy perched on her shoulder, and the third being a familiar moderately muscular woman in a purple jumpsuit and the wildest hair ever.

"Hey Ash. Good to see you again." Anabel said. "Ready to go home, now?"


	16. The Truth Behind The Betrayal

~The Heart~

As the smoke around the blasted door continued to clear the new figures began becoming more and more clear to Aaron and Ash. Anabel, with a similar duffle bag around her shoulder, Kidd Summers, and Pikachu. Behind her, Anabel's Lucario calmly walked into the room and came to a stop behind the purple haired girl.

"Anabel? Kidd?!" Ash asked.

"Hey there, stud." Anabel responded.

"How's it been, kid. Long time, no see." Kidd waved.

Anabel quickly pulled out a pokeball and turned pointing it at the Lucario. "Thanks for the opening, Lucario." She praised returning the pokemon. She turned back around and looked at Aaron with a triumphant face. Pikachu wasted no more time and jumped off Anabel's shoulder.

"Pika!" He yelled sprinting towards Ash. "Pikachu!" He barked again closing the gap between them.

"Pikachu!" Ash returned kneeling down and opening his arms. "C'mere buddy!" Pikachu jumped into his arms and nuzzled up against his cheeks. "I missed you!"

"Pika?"

"I'm never goin' anywhere without you again." Ash promised.

"A touching reunion, truly." Aaron said clasping his hands together. "But with this comes a choice, I believe." Aaron said looking at Ash.

"That's enough out of you!" Anabel ordered. "We're taking Ash home right now, right Kidd?" Beside her Kidd gave Ash a quick nod. Ahead of them Aaron raised an eyebrow and quickly put a finger to his comm. "We got to go, Ash." Anabel said. "I don't know how long Clemont and the others can hold out."

"How right you are." Aaron interrupted. "Butler, feed 12 on the big screen." He ordered. Behind Aaron, his computer lit up with the image of Clemont, Bonnie, Max, Meowth, Molly, and Abel all being escorted down a long hallway with their hands up in the air, save for Clemont who had one arm protectively around Bonnie. Aaron looked over his shoulder at the monitor. "Though I must admit, they put up a much better fight than I thought they would. If only they had a little more firepower...oh, well," He shrugged. "can't change what's done."

"You don't know what you're getting into." Ash warned. "Clemont's smart, too smart for you."

"Smart, you say..." He said stroking his chin. "I _have_ been low on help. Butler, can you hear me?"

'Yes, sir. What are your orders?'

"That group that was just brought in, contact Silver and tell him to pod everyone except for the one in the blue jumpsuit. I think we found our replacement scientist for the one I had to 'let go'... on second thought, leave the Meowth too. A talking Pokemon would be quite the asset as well." He ordered. "He seems to have a connection to the little blonde girl."

'It's his sister.' Butler replied.

"Good. Separate the two. Explain to him his situation, then have him taken to Lab 1 and put him to work." Aaron ordered. "Those intruders should be detained by now. And I want those prisoners handcuffed! That's just basic protocol."

"Leave them alone." Ash ordered. "It's me you want not them."

"Ash, I will not be ordered around by a teenager. I built this business from the ground up, and therefore I can employ whoever I please. And now I want your friend. If he's smart, then he'll do good work. Ever since starting my conquest, I've been running out of pods. They're all being used. So, I need new ones built immediately."

"Conquest? What conquest?" Ash demanded.

"Pika! Pika! Pi! Chuu!" Pikachu said pointing his leg at Aaron. "Pikaaa." He growled.

"What's he saying?" Kidd asked leaning towards Anabel.

"He was just explaining how Aaron's responsible for the kidnappings of hundreds of innocent people. People he still has in his custody." Anabel scowled. Of course, Kidd knew that, Anabel's explanations of Pikachu's words were more a way of letting Ash know.

"What?!" Ash said glaring at Aaron. "That was you?!"

"Honestly, as soon as I showed the first of your captive friends, Misty, in my possession, I figured you would've put two and two together. It was a pretty obvious distinction to make." Aaron responded.

"She's not my friend, I don't care about her." Ash barked. "Not since she helped hurt Pikachu."

Aaron chuckled. His chuckles soon turned into a full out laugh. "Oh, Ash. Believe it or not, I have quite a bit of respect for you, so I'll let you in on a little secret, Misty never hated you. Neither did May or your Unova pals."

"What?! Of course, they hated me! They betrayed me! They hurt Pikachu and never contacted me again! They-"

"They didn't hate you. They were envious of the success you had, they hated how you never contacted them, they hated how you seemed to replace them every so often, they even doubted you could make it as a master, all that was true, but did they hate you, specifically? No. But all it took was for me to take that anguish, anger, doubt and envy and amplify it to the hundredth degree and boom!" He said smacking his hands together. "Instant hate. But you-" He said pointing at Anabel. "you and the others. Couldn't you have been the least bit jealous?" He groaned. "You've become quite the thorn in my side."

"Of course, I wasn't jealous." She said placing a hand to her heart. "Love means being happy when the one you love succeeds."

"And it's that sickly sweet love that prevented me from corrupting you. I should have just had you taken away. You and Brock should have been just as easily manipulated, but for some reason I couldn't find a hint of ill will."

"You failed with Max and Dawn too." Anabel reminded.

"Yes, but I still managed to work them into the plan by playing on their doubts. You two, however, alluded me."

"It was you? They never hated me?" Ash said a tear rolling down his face. "You set it all up? Even Oak shooting Pikachu?"

"Pika..." Pikachu growled from Ash's arms. "Pika!"

"Didn't it ever occur to you that their anger was out of character and came from nowhere? Who just up and turns on their friend like that? It's ridiculous." He asked. "But you were too busy being angry to question anything like why they were doing it, you chalked it all up to them hating you."

"They shot Pikachu and you suggest I just turn around and discuss their actions over tea?" Ash shot back.

"Wait a minute... all of this is impossible!" Anabel yelled. "I was there, nothing was influencing their minds! I would have felt it."

"Little girl, your empathic abilities are hardly up to par with my aura manipulation." Aaron mocked. "I take offense to you even insinuating that you could've caught me in my tracks."

"So, then my pokemon, they were manipulated and Delia, and Oak-"

"No. Oak and Delia were both acting of free will. Oak was so easily corrupted. Dangle some power and safety in front of him and he jumped at the chance. And Delia and I have a... history... together. I honestly believed all of your pokemon would stick with you as well, but low and behold Oak convince the majority to join him."

"That still doesn't explain why May or anyone else never contacted Ash to tell him the truth." Kidd added. "The May I knew wouldn't have given up so easily."

"Couldn't have it happen." Aaron said simply. "The little black-haired boy, Max, ran off immediately after you left the corral, off into the sunset, and as your friends began to come off of the high of emotions I had emphasized, I had Oak capture them." Aaron continued.

"But I saw opportunity in young Max so I kept his sister May out there as my puppet to continue manipulating his emotions until he finally sought you out, throwing you into your terrible mood that led you to me. Then once he came to Kalos, I captured his sister and brought her here."

"What about Pikachu? And Gary?" Ash asked angrily. "Were you behind that too?"

"Of course not. Oak burned his lab of his own free will. And be as cruel as I am to the human race, I would never hurt a pokemon in the way Oak hurt Pikachu. I had no idea he would go so far, so I offered to heal your Pikachu as long as you joined me."

"They were my friends," Ash started taking a step forward.

"They were _weak_!" Aaron snarled. "None of them had half the drive you do. I did you a favor severing your ties with them."

"And you turned them against me!" Ash continued. "You've been manipulating me from the start!" Ash yelled with tears in his eyes. He took another step.

"Maybe, but it's all been for the greater good for you, Ash. I may have amplified their envy, hate, and doubt, but in order for that to happen they had to at least somewhat be angered at and doubt you in the first place." Aaron said.

"You're the reason my life has been so rough over the last year! All for what? Me to join your stupid dictatorship?!"

Anabel tried to rush ahead to join Ash but was stopped by Kidd's arm folding out in front of her before she could move. Anabel turned her head towards Kidd. Kidd shook her head. "This is his fight. Let him handle it. We're here for support if he needs it." She nodded and looked back to Ash and Aaron. "Why are you telling us all this?" Kidd asked. "You're just damning yourself here."

"It's likely you were going to find out eventually. All it takes is one loudmouth." Aaron replied. "It also serves to show the extent of my influence. Besides, there was no point in hiding it anymore, I have everything under control now that all the assailants from outside have been caught."

"You're going to start making up for what you've done right now by healing my Pikachu. If not..." Ash dug into his pocket and pulled out his only remaining pokeball. "things are going to get ugly...for you."

"Sadly, that's not how this works. You know the whole story now, so you know the extent to which I'll go to get what I want. I want you by my side, and if you comply, I'll help Pikachu."

"And what about my friends? Anabel? Kidd? Serena?" Ash asked. "Once I join you, are you just going to throw them in pods and steal their aura?"

"As long as you stay by my side, and they stay out of my way, I see no reason why we can't be friends, or at least bitter acquaintances." Aaron said.

"Ash don't do it." Anabel said. "We can find another way to help Pikachu. We don't need him."

"There is no other way. Unless you expect Arceus herself to descend to the Earth to heal a single Pikachu, something that's never been done." Aaron prodded.

"Think of all he's done Ash!" Kidd joined in. "Can you be sure that what he says will happen will? The whole procedure could be a bust."

~Lower Levels~

Professor Sycamore and Tory were currently around the corner from the room where all the captives were being held in containment pods. They had recently watched as both Ritchie and Trip were wheeled in the dark room by two male grunts. What the grunts didn't know was that Plusle and Minun followed them inside. The grunts left the room moments ago but Plusle and Minun still hadn't opened the door.

"This is taking too long." Tory said turning to Sycamore. "What if they were caught? They could be in real trouble." He whispered.

"Have faith young one." Sycamore took a look at his watch. "We'll give it another three minutes, before we go in guns-a-blazin'." The two's conversation was cut off by a loud scraping noise. The two men turned their attention back to the door to find it wide open. At the very opening of the door was Tory's Plusle giving them a happy wave.

"Come on!" Tory said rushing to his friend. He sprinted to the door and came to a stop beside Plusle. "Good job, buddy." Plusle quickly climbed up Tory's legs and torso and perched herself on his left shoulder. "Where's Minun?" Tory turned to his right to find Minun already perched on his other shoulder. "Whoa. Hey."

"Come on, Tory-boy! We've got captives to save." Professor Sycamore said rushing into the room.

"Wait for us!" Tory said running after him, Plusle and Minun clenching his shoulders for support. They made their way into the room and the doors slammed shut behind them. Tory quickly scanned his surroundings. It wasn't even a room, really. More like another hallway. The middle portion was really bare, nothing but a bunch of weird looking pieces of technology and a couple hovering vehicles.

The left and right though, was much more interesting. Pod after pod as far as the eye could see stretching the length of the hallway/room on both sides with an unconscious victim in each pod. They seemed to be arranged alphabetically too.

"Pull up a flyer, my boy." Professor Sycamore said. Tory looked to his left to see the good professor standing on one of the hovering vehicles. "Let's go!" He prodded.

"But I don't know how to drive one of those things!" Tory argued. "Maybe I should just walk?"

"This'll be much faster. It's easy, I remember from my grad days in Oblivia. Just hit the red button lean in the direction you want to go and the Flyer will follow suit."

"Alright." Tory said unsure. He jumped on the nearest Z.Z. Flyer and hit the red button located on the foremost part of the handlebars and stood in amazement as its engine began roaring, he leaned to the right and slowly approached the professor.

"Good show." Professor Sycamore said smiling at him. "Now we need a game plan. There are way more pods than I anticipated."

"Well I hate to play favorites," Tory said. "but maybe we should find our friends first, then worry about the other hostages?" He suggested.

"Not the altruistic choice but it sounds good to me." Sycamore said.

"They're all arranged by last name, problem is I only know first names. What do we do?"

Sycamore clicked his tongue a couple times and shook his head. "Fear not, no one enters my lab without a background check. Not Ash Ketchum. Not Ritchie Jayne. And not you, Tory Lund."

"So who's first alphabetically, then?" Tory asked.

Sycamore paused for a moment. "That would be..." He trailed tapping his chin. "James."

" _Team Rocket_ James?" Tory groaned facepalming. "Fine. I suppose he did come to help so..."

"His last name is Cathcart. To the C's!" Sycamore yelled. He leaned forward and the Z.Z. Flyer zipped down the hallway. Luckily whoever designed the room wanted to make easier to organize too so each pod was labeled with the name of the person inside.

Tory slowly moved behind Sycamore at a much slower pace quickly falling behind. "Mi-Nun!" The blue pika-clone exclaimed from the right shoulder.

"Sorry! I've never even ridden a bike before and now you want to be a pilot of this weird hoverboard?! It's not my fault!" Tory shot back. Plusle jumped off Tory's shoulder and onto the standing pad and took a quick look around. "What are you doing Plusle? Please don't do anything-"

"Plu! Plu!" The little mouse shouted releasing as much electricity out of her little body as possible and siphoning it into the Flyer. With the boosted energy wave the Flyer flew forward at an alarming rate towards Professor Sycamore.

Professor Sycamore's Flyer came to a stop in front of a single pod. He turned his head to find a familiar bluenette locked inside, seemingly asleep.

"Look out, Professor!" Tory yelled. Professor Sycamore looked behind him to see Tory charging towards him. Sycamore hopped off the Flyer just in time. Plusle stooped releasing electricity and Tory's flyer crashed into Sycamore's. Tory flipped over both and landed on his back and both Plusle and Minun soared above him before plummeting and landing on his stomach. "Ouch." Tory said. Plusle and Minun both got back up and began jumping up and down on Tory's chest.

"Plu!" "Nun!" They both cried happily. Tory dragged himself back up and scooped up the two mice. "No, we're not going again and I forgive you, by the way!" He scolded. "Did you find him?" Tory asked joining the professor.

"Yes, though those Flyers aren't going to do us any good anymore." Sycamore said turning his attention to the two wrecked speeders. "They're quite fragile."

"Plu!" Plusle said crossing her arms in defiance. "Plusle."

"That's what I get for having pranksters for best friends." Tory sighed. "But let's focus on James, here. How do we get him out?"

"From what I could gather from base appearances, they definitely have limited power in and of themselves. So, if we cut the exact chord that transfers the extra power, we could cut off any further use for them or we could find what's powering them in the first place.

"So just cut all the chords! Problem solved." Tory suggested.

"No, no. It has to be the right chord, otherwise the resulting imbalance of power could envelop the entire tube in a deadly shock and with them surrounded by all that water..." Sycamore let his silence spell the rest out for the young boy.

"Okay, bad idea, I get it. So how do we tell what's what?" Tory asked.

"Well, it looks like the bulk of the machinery is located here." He said pointing to a metal casing located below the glass tube. He pulled out a pokeball. "Garchomp!" He said throwing the ball into the air. "I need you!"

A bright light took the form of a giant humanoid shark before it faded to reveal Sycamore's trusty Garchomp. "Gar!"

"Okay Garchomp, see that metal casing? I need it gone without damaging everything inside. Think you can do that?"

"Chomp!" He stretched out his arms as it roared. "Gar!" He extended his arm a lightspeed digging his nails into the metal casing. He reared his arm back tearing the metal clean off the machine revealing a motherboard of chips and wires of all shapes and sizes.

"How was nothing damaged with that move?" Tory asked in amazement.

"Garchomp prides himself on his precision." Sycamore said smirking. "Now onto the hard part."

~Lower Levels~

~Outside the Collection Room~

Bonnie, Molly, Max, and Abel, now handcuffed per Aaron's orders were standing outside the same room Tory and Professor Sycamore happened to be occupying at the moment. Clemont and Meowth had already been taken from the group by two older men in lab coats. Now the remaining four were being taken to where everybody who's been captured over the course of a year were being held hostage. The group was being escorted by two young male grunts.

While the two grunts weren't looking Bonnie leaned towards Max. "I thought you said you had a plan." She growled quietly.

"I've been waiting for the right moment." Max replied. "They're watching us like fearows."

One of the grunts looked over his shoulder and glared. "Quiet you two! No talking."

"You guys are gonna be sorry once my brother comes back for me." Bonnie threatened. "He's not just gonna let you lock me away!"

"Guess there's no point in the 'no talking' rule. Your brother doesn't have a choice. None of us do." The first grunt replied. "Once you're podded, Aaron will be able to make your brother do whatever he wants. Like a little puppet."

"Is that why you're here?" Max asked. "Does he have your sibling?"

"I'll let you in on a little secret since you're gonna be locked away anyways. Most people here are just normal, good willed people. There are a few higher ups that don't have the greatest of intentions, but most of us are here because somewhere in that room," He said pointing ahead. "is someone connected to us. Brothers, sisters, moms, dads, friends, anyone special. As long as we do what we're told, he doesn't hurt them. Soon your brother will be in the same position as the rest of us, a slave."

"So why don't you help us? We can get your loved ones out of here!" Max said. "Just release our bonds and we can help!"

"If I help you that psycho will age my little sister up 'till she's old enough to be my grandma! And you're not worth that. Silver, open the door. I'm done talkin'."

The boy called Silver leaned over and let the retina scanner beam his eye. 'Access granted.' The doors slowly opened and the first grunt gestured for the group to go inside.

As they walked in the four captives took in the view of the hundreds of people in suspended animation all around them.

"Whoa." Molly said. "This place is almost as big as my bathroom!"

"Alright." Silver said. "I'll take blondie and the rich kid over here. Smart aleck and the minun boy both belong over in the 'M's. Once done we're supposed to-" Silver turned back around to find two people he'd never seen before messing with one of the pods. "Hey! What do you think you're doing?! This is a restricted area!" Silver said reaching into his pocket. "Bill, help me check these two jokers out!" Bill nodded and followed Silver.

"Uh...Professor?" Tory whispered. "We've been caught."

"Yes, yes, I heard them. Just stall them okay?" Sycamore said in response. "I'm on the brink of a breakthrough here."

"Kid! Can we see some authorization?"

"Why? Can't you see there was a malfunction in this pod?! We need to fix it before there's any permanent damage!" Tory ordered.

"I wasn't informed of any malfunction in the pod." Silver said crossing his arms. "I'm going to need to call this in." He reached into his pocket and pulled out his comm. Plusle jumped straight from Tory's shoulder and into Silver's arms. "What the-" Plusle quickly swiped the comm and jumped to the ground scurrying away. "Hey!" Silver yelled. He began chasing after the little mouse. "Bill stop these two from doing anything else!" He called behind him. "Get back here you little rat!"

Back with the other four Max was in the middle of putting his plan into action. He pulled his leg back and kicked at Abel's thigh. "Ow! What the hell, Max?!"

"Sorry, Abel. Gotta get Jirachi out of your pocket. Just keep the screams to yourself." He kicked at the pocket once again, this time hitting at just the right angle to knock a pokeball out of his pocket and into the air. Max struggled with the bonds trying to flip his hand over. He managed to flip his hand up just in time to catch the pokeball. "Got it!" He used his thumb to hit the small button and the ball opened up releasing the wishmaker.

'Hi Max!' Jirachi greeted happily. 'Is it over?'

"Jirachi, I wish these metal bonds were replaced with plastic toy cuffs." Max said. "Everyone else's too."

'But that's stealing!'

"Pretty sure hundreds of lives are worth more than twenty pokedollars, quickly!" Max argued. He held his bonds right in front of Jirachi's face. Jirachi lifted his hands in the air as it was enveloped in a bright white light. He gently touched Max's cuffs and in seconds Max could feel the material change. His hands felt lighter, the material wasn't as cold, and he had gained much more wiggle room.

"Perfect." He smirked. He used all his strength pushing both arms away from each other violently. The little plastic chains connecting the cuffs easily broke apart and Max pushed the remaining plastic rings to the floor. "Thanks, Jirachi. Now do the others."

'Alright.' He said floating over to Abel.

"Where are you getting these?" Abel asked.

'Remember that novelty toy store we came across in Hoenn?' Jirachi asked. He touched his magic hand to the metal cuffs transforming them into plastic.

Abel quickly mirrored Max's former movements breaking the toy into pieces. "Oh, yeah." He replied flicking his wrists sending the remaining pieces to the floor. He looked ahead to see Tory being manhandled by Bill. "C'mon Max! We gotta help what's-his-name!" Max nodded and ran after him.

Tory wrestled with the boy for a moment before Bill grabbed him by the neck violently stopping his fight. In response Minun let out a powerful, painful shock at the boy. As soon as the electrification was through Bill coughed once before stumbling. Taking the chance, Max charged at shoved the boy to ground before he could regain his footing. "Thanks, Minun. Maybe lower the voltage next time, though." He turned to the younger boy "Max!" Tory exclaimed. "Am I glad to see you! I'm not much of a fighter." He admitted.

"Well we're here, now." Abel said joining the two. "And we can fight."

"No, we can't." Bonnie interrupted. She, Molly, and Jirachi joined the group as well rubbing their newly freed hands. "We don't have any pokemon."

"Eureka!" Professor Sycamore exclaimed jumping up.

"What?" Bonnie asked.

"I've done it! I've cracked the system! I may not be any type of mechanic or computer tycoon but I'd bet my PhD that that's the wire we need to cut!" He said pointing to the thickest wire on the panel.

"Hey!" They all turned to see Silver with Plusle in a headlock and his comm back in his other hand. Behind him floated one of his Darkrai. "Back away from the tube." He ordered. "Or your dreams will be particularly nightmarish for the next few weeks."

"Wait!" Bonnie said. "You guys said you couldn't help because your loved ones were locked up in here. We can free them!" Bonnie tried. "Let Professor Sycamore try one thing quick and then if you're not happy, we surrender." She reasoned.

"On one hand we succeed and help you save whoever you lost, or we fail, you detain us, throw us in pods, and your boss will hail you as heroes who stopped an uprising." Max added. "You can't lose."

"The rat doesn't get let go until I see some results." He said tightening his grip on Plusle. "And no funny business!"

Bonnie nodded. "Okay professor, go ahead." She insisted.

"But what if I'm wrong? This is just an educated guess at best!" Sycamore panicked.

"You said you'd bet your PhD!" Molly reminded.

"Those words had no weight to them!" Sycamore replied. "It was the heat of the moment!"

"Do what you're gonna do or no deal." Silver warned. "You've got two minutes to show me something incredible."

Sycamore nodded and kneeled down and took a deep breath. "I need something sharp." Sycamore said turning back to the group. "Quickly people!"

"Jirachi!" Abel said turning to the wishmaker. I wish for a broken shard of glass!" Jirachi nodded and in a blip of light a single shard of glass fell into Abel's hands.

'Don't cut yourself.'

"Incredible." Silver said. "A real wishmaker." He shook the amazement out of his head and turned his attention back to his task. "Don't try anything with that shard."

Abel handed the shard to Professor Sycamore. He gripped it tightly before slashing it across the intended wire. It fizzled and sparkled for a moment before becoming completely powerless. Sycamore raised his head to face the tube holding James.

Nothing happened.

"Damn it!" Sycamore cursed. "So much for my PhD."

"Don't worry." Molly said putting a hand on his shoulder. "When we get out of those tubes, I'll buy you a new one." She said.

"Alright, you had me going for a moment but you blew it. Bill, get up, you lazy bastard! We got people to detain." Silver ordered. From the ground Bill fidgeted and let out a moan. Silver shook his head at him. "Good help is hard to find. I request that all pokemon be returned to their pokeballs before the podding process or they will be confiscated. The process is painless and-"

"Wait look!" Max said pointing at the pod. Everyone watched in amazement as the fluids inside the tube began to drain out of the machine. The water level slowly descended past his torso and James's eyes began to slowly open. The door to the tube flung open and James fell face first out of the contraption.

"Somebody catch him!" Bonnie yelled.

He fell into the open arms of Professor Sycamore. "His eyes finally opened all the way and he began regaining consciousness. "What happened?" He asked. He looked at the professor then back at the tube he was locked in. "Where am- Jessie! Meowth!" He yelled. He stumbled to his feet. "Where?"

"Meowth is fine." Max said. "Jessie's somewhere in one of these tubes. Stay calm, and we'll help you get her out, right?" He said turning to Silver. "Sycamore did it. We can all be allies now."

Silver nodded. He released his grip around Plusle. The little mouse dropped to the floor, landing on her feet. She made her way back to Tory and scaled his body before nuzzling up against his cheek.

"Great. We're all on the same side here, right?" Sycamore asked. Everyone nodded in response. "Good then we split up. There are way too many tubes for us to do this one by one. Break into groups and start breaking people out." Sycamore ordered. Silver nodded and sprinted off down the hallway presumably to find the person close to him.

"It's about time I got my free will back!" Bill exclaimed. "I'm coming Jackie!" He called running after Silver.

"We're gonna need the help of our pokemon to break these people out. I'm gonna have to ask Jirachi to break his 'no wishes' rule one more time. We need some vitality clumps." Max said.

'Done.' Jirachi said. He waved his arm in the air leaving a trail of max revives in its wake. 'Enough clumps for one pokemon each.'

"We should check for Dawn and Paul too. Just in case that's why we couldn't reach them." Bonnie suggested.

"We need last names though. That's how they're organized." Max said. "Professor?"

"Right." He nodded. "Let's see Jessie is..."

"Knotz!" James interrupted taking off down the corridor before anyone could react. "I'm coming Jessie!"

"Miette McDowell and Trip McGonnigal." Professor Sycamore listed on his fingers.

"'M' category. Great!" Bonnie said. "Come on Molly!" The two rushed to the other side of the room in search of their friends.

"Ritchie Jayne." Sycamore added. "Alain Silver."

"Done." Max said taking off.

"And done." Abel said running after him with Jirachi floating closely behind.

Sycamore looked around. He was alone. "Guess I'll check for Dawn and Paul." He shrugged. "Time to turn the tide." He thought for a moment. "Let's see...Rebolledo? That sounds right. But I'll need a ride." He reached into his pocket. "Garchomp, come out again!" He said releasing his shark pokemon back out into the room. He climbed on top of Garchomp's back. "Glide me to the 'R' section, buddy! Stop if you see Paul!" Garchomp let out a grunt before launching himself off the ground and began his flight down the corridor. On his way down he caught a glance of Max's Grovyle cutting the wire to Ritchie's pod and saw both Molly and Bonnie catching a drowsy Miette from her fall from the pod. Everything was going well.

Garchomp landed and skid to a stop and let out a grunt. Sycamore quickly dismounted his friend and took a look at the pod Garchomp had stopped for. Inside was a familiar purple haired young boy. He had changed his clothes into a black and red sweater jacket and matching pants but other than that you'd of thought they captured him the day he left the lab. "So they did get you. Well my, boy we're here now. Garchomp, the casing."

Garchomp nodded and, just like before, used his superior strength to rip the casing off of the bottom of the machine. "Thanks, Garchomp." He knelt down to the panel and took the piece of glass and slashed the large power wire.

He took a step back as the fluids inside drained. The tube's door flung open and Paul dropped out of the machine into Sycamore's arms. "Paul, my boy? Can you hear me?"

The young teen groaned in response. "What?" He opened his eyes and looked around. He suddenly realized he was being held in Sycamore's arms.

"Aah!" He jolted up with surprising stamina for someone who's been in suspended animation for an indefinite period of time. "You tell no one that you were holding me, got it?!" Paul ordered. "Wait...Dawn! Did it work? Did she get away? Why isn't she here helping?" He barked still struggling to gain his footing

"Does she know where we are? We couldn't reach her."

"I left her the business card of the goon who captured me." Paul said rubbing his temple. "Oh." He groaned. I got a killer headache." He complained.

"Dawn's here." The voice of Molly answered. They both turned around as Bonnie and Molly joined them bring along the newly freed Miette with them. "She saved Clemont earlier, then rushed off before we could talk to her."

"We'll have to find her later." Sycamore said. "She can take care of herself in the meantime. This is more important."

"What's the plan?" Paul asked. "I'm here, might as well play the hero."

"Got a pokemon with any sharp parts strong enough to cut through metal?" Sycamore asked. Paul nodded and threw a pokeball into the air. The resulting light revealed a white and blue quadruped with a long sharp blade attached to the side of its head.

"Picked him up over by Ambrette." Paul said proudly scratching the pokemon's head. "Absol's blade should be more than enough."

"Great. I'll show you how to release the hostages, then split off and release as many as you can. We don't know how much time we have before someone realizes something's up. But I'm guessing it won't be long enough to release everyone in here." Paul nodded.


	17. Saving Private Cilan

~Pokeball Factory~

~Lower Levels~

With every passing moment the rescue mission deep below the Kalos surface was getting stronger and stronger. They weren't very far along in the process yet, but with every freed victim they gained an extra pair of hands to help them. They had already gotten to Miette, Ritchie, Paul, Jessie, and James. Bonnie had just been dispatched by Molly to grab Trip from just across the way. She walked on looking to her side, watching for the blonde-haired ace, though she did wonder for how much he bragged, how it was he was captured. Behind her strode Squishy in his 20% form. She really wished she could've revived Dedenne but it was just more practical to use Squishy instead.

They continued on until they spotted a pod ahead that held the desired boy inside, sleeping like there was nothing going on. She ran up and skid to a stop right in front of the tube. "Okay, Squishy! You know the drill!" She said pointing to the metal casing in front of her. "Let's free Trip!" Squishy nodded. The pokemon put one paw forward and it glowed a brilliant green, his nails spiked in growth and he slashed at the metal before him.

Bonnie, seeing that she would be of no help at the moment looked around at the other captives. Eventually Bonnie's eyes landed on a single girl. She shook her head quick to make sure she wasn't hallucinating. She turned back to Squishy just in time to see him slash the black wire in two. She also noticed Max, Tory, and Professor Sycamore examining another victim not too far from her. "Professor! You might want to come here!" She called.

Sycamore turned to the two boys beside him. Max just shrugged and rushed off to Bonnie with Grovyle with Tory quickly behind him. Sycamore took the hint and he and Garchomp headed off in the same direction. Once the three had joined her she simply pointed to the pod in front of her and everyone followed her hand to find a sleeping brunette inside. One they all recognized immediately from her signature hairstyle and bandana. Her head was tilted slightly to the side as she slept inside her prison.

"May!" Max exclaimed. "I...don't understand. She was fine before I left for my flight here!"

"I by fine you mean an uncaring-"

"Shut up, Bonnie!" Max interrupted. "We gotta get her out of there, right now! Grovyle..." He said turning to his partner. Grovyle nodded once and forced the grass blade on his right arm grow in size and sharpness.

"Now wait a minute." Bonnie said. "Who says we free her?" She asked. "My vote goes to leaving her here." She scowled. "That's why I called you over here, to let you know _not_ to open this one."

"We aren't voting on my sister's life. You don't have to like it but I'm getting her out of there. She may have hurt Ash but I still love her!" He argued.

"And you wanted to convince Ash you'd changed." Bonnie scoffed.

"If I can interrupt," Tory said timidly. "I vote we let her out too." He said. "I don't know what your problem with her is, Bonnie, but I wouldn't feel right leaving her there."

"So that's two votes for and two against." Bonnie summarized. "In the event of a tie, we leave her there, right Professor." She asked without looking at the older man.

"Actually, I must concur with young Max on this. It just wouldn't be ethical to her there, no matter what she's done. Grovyle, do your thing." Sycamore ordered. Grovyle launched his arm towards the pod slashing the bulk of metal in half.

"But-"

" _You_ wanted to vote." Professor Sycamore reminded her. "I'm not telling you to kiss and make up, but we came here to rescue _everyone_." He said sternly. "And that's what we're going to do." He turned back to Tory. "You can go back to doing what you were, we'll let her out, I promise."

"Thanks, Professor!" Tory said. "We'll go find that Latias girl!" He promised running off with his two buddies.

"If you guys are done arguing, we've got another traitor over here!" Paul called from directly behind them. Professor Sycamore snapped around and rushed to Paul. Inside the tube in front of Paul was the green-haired connoisseur himself Cilan. "What do we do with him once we get him out?" Paul asked.

Sycamore rubbed his chin, then sighed. "We don't 'do' anything with him. He can help us or he can leave." Sycamore advised. "But if Cilan and May are here, I would venture to guess Iris and Misty are too, so we may need to just learn to tolerate each other for a bit."

"I hate playing nice." Paul told him. "But if it's the only way...Absol cut through that garbage with Razor Wind." Absol's crescent horn glowed white and the disaster pokemon jumped backwards snapping his head forward and shooting a glowing blade from his horn. It collided with the metal cutting it in half, causing both pieces to the floor. Once both pieces were out of the way it revealed the attack had gone right through the metal and already severed the wire.

The fluids immediately began to disappear from the tubes and Cilan's eyes slowly opened. Paul reached forward and pulled the door to the stasis pod open causing Cilan to flop out weakly. Paul groaned loudly and, against his true wishes, caught Cilan before he hit the ground.

Cilan's eyes shot all the way open and he let out a loud gasp. He turned his head up to meet Paul's eyes glaring down at him. "Paul?" He said groggily. "Paul! Where's Iris?!"

"Why do I care?" Paul said coldly.

Clian grabbed Paul by the shoulders and looked him in the eyes. "Paul some madman's going after Ash! He wanted me and Iris out of the way because we knew the truth! You gotta warn Ash!" Cilan said in a panicked voice.

"Oh, wow. Let me just call up Ash and tell him. Thanks for telling us in a timely matter. We'll be sure to avoid a kidnapping phenomenon now, all thanks to you! All's well that ends well, huh?" Paul responded sarcastically. "Dipstick." Paul scoffed. "You're awake. I'm done helping you." He shoved Cilan away from him onto the ground. Cilan fell on his rear and looked back up as Paul turned his back and gestured for Absol to follow.

"I know you won't believe me when I tell you this but that betrayal wasn't my fault!" Cilan yelled. "I don't know Oak did it, but he manipulated me! It was like I was someone completely different. I'd never hurt Ash! Iris too! Those types of intentions are much too bitter for us!"

Paul turned to look over his shoulder. "You're right. I don't believe you. Just go see the Professor. He'll show you what to do. Pull your weight or leave." He turned his head back to face forward and found Max helping his sister stand up. He quickly wrapped an arm around his shoulder and lifted her to her feet.

"Is he okay?" Max called to Paul. Paul looked back to Cilan to see he hadn't gotten back up yet, in fact he looked like he had faded back into a somewhat unconscious state.

"Yeah sure, why not?" Paul said. He knew he was sounding very ingenuous but that's because he was. He couldn't care less for Cilan. All he truly cared about at the moment was freeing the rest of the hostages, finding Dawn, and taking down whoever it was that locked him away in that infernal machine.

"May seems to be more out of it than most of the others!" Max informed him. "She can barely stand even with my help. I'm gonna stay with her." He said.

"You do that." Paul said not really listening. "Keep a close eye on the moss-head too. I don't trust him." He finished walking away. He approached the good Professor who was currently helping someone else out of their pod. Someone Paul immediately recognized as the Battle Frontier Pike Queen Lucy. "Professor, searching every pod only for people we know is taking too long. We need to start releasing the masses." Paul said.

"Yes, I suppose you're right, my boy." Sycamore agreed. He grabbed Lucy's hand and helped her to gain her footing, "But I shudder to think what's happening to poor Ash and Serena right now. Hopefully Anabel and Kidd have found them."

"Well considering we haven't found any of them down here, they can't be doing any rougher than us, I would say." Paul said.

"I suppose."

"Hey, look who we found over by Alain's pod!" The three heard Ritchie call. Ritchie and Trip were both helping Brock walk towards the group. Brock had his left arm around Ritchie and his right around Trip and both had one hand on his chest for extra support.

"Brock! You're okay!" Lucy exclaimed clasping her hands together. "When you disappeared from the search group, I got so worried."

"Yeah. I don't know about okay, but I'm definitely alive." He said weakly. "I feel like my legs are made of jello. My head is so cloudy too."

"Me too. I can't remember anything past a couple days after your disappearing act." Lucy said.

"Perhaps it means you've been in those machines longer. Most of us couldn't have been captured for more than a couple hours." Sycamore suggested. "We have no idea how long you've been here. But I'm guessing it's more than a couple hours. It's normal to feel these things when awaking from an abnormally long period of unconsciousness."

"Maybe. All I remember is some lady attacking me and Sudowoodo talking about 'the Chosen One'. After that it's all white."

~Main Floor~

Meowth and Clemont were standing outside a set of sliding doors with their escorter. Both had been ripped away from the others just after they had been brought into the building. Neither had wanted to separate but with their new bonds, there wasn't much they could do.

The grunt reached into his pocket and pulled out a small key. He kneeled down and stuck the key inside the little lock located on the front of Clemont's cuffs, then did the same for Meowth. The cuffs opened up and dropped to the ground.

"This is where the two of you will be working from now on." The grunt told them. "Clemont you are to be a researcher. Your priorities will to invent new technology for us and find weaknesses in our enemies. Meowth will be our lab rattata."

"Who you callin' a Rattata, jerk?" Meowth yelled. "I oughta scratch your eyes out!"

"We'll run multiple tests, some painless, some not so painless, hoping to find what it is inside you that allows you to talk outside your native tongue."

"Determination. That's all it takes." Meowth said crossing his arms smugly. "You humans always underestimate us and what we're capable of."

"We've been ordered to look for a scientific anomaly in your system that contrasts that with a regular Meowth." The grunt argued. "You'll give daily blood, saliva, and urine samples for examination by are researchers."

"Gross." Clemont cringed. "I'm not doing that."

"I'm not doing anything!" Meowth exclaimed. "You can't make me!"

"You're correct. But your friends will be the ones who pay the price for any insolence you exhibit. The same goes for your little sister." He said addressing Clemont this time." Meowth's face fell but Clemont just glared at the man.

"My sister's smarter than your average 8-year-old. She could've easily gotten away." Clemont argued.

"Maybe, but is that really a chance you're willing to take? If I had a little sister I certainly wouldn't gamble with her life."

"You win." The two boys said in unison. "We'll do your stupid tasks." Clemont continued.

"Good." The grunt smirked. "Now if you'll follow me, I'll show you around your new home away from home." He took a step forward and the sliding doors split open. Just inside was a Mr. Mime standing still with its back turned to them. "What the-" He was interrupted by the pokemon falling backwards flat onto the floor. He looked down to find swirls in its eyes and drool coming from its mouth.

"Yeah!" The grunt glared as a blue haired girl high fived with a blond girl who looked to be the same age. In front of them stood a much shorter girl, a Piplup and a Chespin and behind them, standing tall, was a Charizard who met the grunts glare with his own.

"Serena! Dawn! Mairin! You guys are here?!" Clemont yelled rushing forward.

"Never been so happy to see a bunch of twerps!" Meowth said running after him.

"Friends of yours?" The grunt asked. When he didn't get an answer, he took a look at his surroundings. All around him laid fainted pokemon and scientists. Burn marks were all over their state-of-the-art machinery and the floor. All the security cameras lay smashed to pieces on the floor. There had definitely been a battle here. And he was clearly outgunned.

"Why would you do all this?" The grunt asked. "You guys knocked out all those people and pokemon?"

"Hey, I always ask nicely first." Dawn said. "All they had to do was tell me where they were holding Paul. But they said that was top secret, so we tried beating it out of them. So how about this, You tell me where Paul is, and I'll let you leave unharmed. Sound good?" Dawn asked.

"Alright." He shrugged. He saw the losing battle he'd be fighting. "Whoever this Paul is, he's probably one of the captives being held in the lower levels. But I wouldn't go down there if I were you, you're much safer here." He advised.

"Well, good thing you're not me then, huh?" Dawn said rushing past him. "See ya later Serena, Mairin. C'mon Piplup!"

Piplup began his trek after his trainer giving out a little "Lup." at every stride. Meowth quickly ran after him.

"Wait for me twerp! I'm coming pals!" He cried.

As soon as they had all left the room. The grunt watched as Clemont rejoiced with the two intruders. It was time to cut his losses. Even with one less person, he was still immensely outgunned. He turned around and strutted out of the lab.

As the sliding doors closed behind him, he quickly activated the comm located in his ear and tuned it to his desired channel feed. "Newbie's gone rogue." He reported.

Inside the other three were just happy to be together without a distracting royal going on. "Well I guess I shoulda seen that coming." Serena sighed. "But who would have thought Meowth would choose to go with them?"

"He only has two friends in the whole world and at the moment he's at risk of losing them." Clemont reminded her.

"I guess, but I've never seen him care so much." Serena said. "It's kinda surreal."

"That's not what's most important at the moment." Clemont interrupted. "Where's Ash? We sent Anabel, Kidd, and Ritchie to find you and Ash."

"Anabel, who, and who?" Serena tilted her head. "They don't all have a thing for him do they?! Are you trying to sabotage me?!" She yelled.

Mairin chuckled. "You're funny when you're jealous." Mairin joked.

"Okay," Clemont sighed. " _One_ , Ritchie's a guy, so even if he does, Ash wouldn't go for it, _two_ , only Anabel could've found Ash in this frickin labyrinth, seriously all its missing is a bunch of dancing goblin puppets, and _three_ , really? Right now? We need to find Ash. You know where he is?" Clemont asked.

"Yeah, but where's Bonnie?" Serena said.

"She was taken to the same place as Paul and Team Rocket." Clemont answered.

"Don't you want to go get her? You can just meet up with us later." Mairin said. She truly wanted to go find Alain too but she feared she'd just get in the way of Dawn and Meowth.

In response to her question Clemont gave a few chuckles. "I know Bonnie. If they think they can get her to stay still for one second if she doesn't want to, they're wrong. Stasis or not she'll do what she wants and only that." He said proudly. "She's probably already started her rebellion."

"Sounds like Bonnie." Serena agreed. "Come on, we gotta save Ash, right Charizard." The dragon behind her blew a small amount of fire out of his mouth and up into the air. "Good." She nodded. "Because Ash needs your strength." She said rubbing his stomach.

~The Heart~

Ash and Aaron had reached a standstill. As far as Ash knew Bonnie and Molly had just been added to the list of his many friends that were currently locked up away in some basement in stasis pods ready to have the very life sucked out of them at any moment. Serena could be down there too, who knows? And before him stood a possible chance to heal Pikachu and bring back his partner in battle. All he had to do was go against everything he ever knew.

At the same time, Aaron has recognized that Ash poses a real threat to his plans. Everything banks on Ash joining him. And as long as he kept his friends hostage or as long as he held that impaired aura, he'd always have something to dangle over Ash's head.

"No one in the world has the power I have." Aaron said. "So, I'll say it one more time. Join me, and your friends will be spared."

"I don't need your charity!" Anabel said. "I was part of the Battle Frontier. You couldn't capture me if you tried!"

"So easily you forget that I have three Frontier Brains in my custody and they were captured by my underlings. I didn't even have to lift a finger, just sit back and watch the show." He gloated. "Now I'm quite tired of waiting so I'll need your answer now Ash, join me and ensure their safety, or face me and run the risk of losing it all. What is your choice?"

"Before I choose answer me one more question. How do I know you aren't lying about the aura's healing power?" Ash asked. "The answer will make my choice for me."

"You've felt aura running through you. You've seen it do what you thought was the impossible before. But most importantly you've done it before. Remember when I asked you what previous experiences you had with aura before coming here?"

"I said I helped Lucario heal Mew at the Tree of Beginnings." Ash finished. "Alright you win, but I swear to Arceus if you hurt a single one of my friends-"

"Your friends will be fine." Aaron promised. Ash nodded and joined Aaron on the far side of the room. "Granted they stay out of my way." He added. He stuck out his hand in a gesture of good intentions but Ash just glared back at him. He pulled his hand back and smirked. "All right, no handshake required."

"Pikaaa. Pika. Chuu." Pikachu muttered.

"I know this isn't something you'd want for me buddy, this is my decision alone. I've weighed my options. This isn't all about healing you buddy, he's got our friends. But I won't blame you if you want to stay with Anabel and Kidd." He said sadly scratching behind his ear.

"Pikaachuu." The little mouse responded shaking his head. "Pika."

"Thanks buddy. You're the best friend I could ever ask for." Ash said. "At least I won't be alone."

"You know this makes both of you our enemies, right?" Anabel asked. "I can't forgive what he's done to Greta. And if you're with him-"

"I hate it, too, Anabel. I hate it more than you do. But you didn't see how helpless they are. I don't have a choice."

"We all have a choice, Ash." Kidd said. "You always have a choice and you're choosing to let him win. You're choosing to sell your soul. I understand your position more than most. I do this stuff for a living. I've grown close to colleagues then lost them on the field. The important thing is to carry on for them. Would Brock want you to throw away your dignity just because things look bleak?"

"No." Ash admitted.

"Then why are you doing it!?" Anabel yelled. "The Ash I fell in love with is a fighter! He doesn't let anyone stop him. Not Team Flare, Not Team Rocket, and not this man."

"Have you really changed that much since we last saw each other." Kidd said crossing her arms and shaking her head. "Maybe I misjudged you."

"I haven't changed! But it was those same friends that he's threatening that gave me the strength to fight! Without them, I'm nothing." He said looking to his feet.

"But you still have us." Anabel pleaded. "You still have Pikachu, and you still have them."

"Them?" Ash asked. This whole time Anabel had a duffle bag slung around her shoulders, Ash's favorite duffle bag actually, he had many in the event of him ever traveling again, but that one would be the one he used if he did because it was the same one Gary gave him on that fateful day. She unloaded it off her shoulder and tossed it at him. Beside Ash Aaron smirked. Ash easily caught the bag and tore open the zipper to find an entourage of pokeballs.

"A rescue mission wouldn't be complete without the ones who've fought beside you the most. Inside there is every one of your most loyal subjects who insisted on coming with." Anabel said.

"I have now heard enough mushy-feelings junk to last me the next century. Perhaps you need to be reminded of just how powerful I am." He raised a single hand in the air and snapped his fingers.

~Lower Levels~

Abel was in the middle of helping Alain out of his prison when a loud whirring sound overtook the entire room. Everybody watched as a hole opened up in the ceiling.

"What's going on?!" Professor Sycamore yelled while covering his ears. The sound of whatever machine was working at the moment was so loud and distracting it was difficult to even remember what they were supposed to be doing.

"The boss must be summoning a pod to his throne room!" Silver answered. He and Bill had found their lost siblings and were now fully on board with helping get everyone out. He was currently holding the hand of his black-haired little sister who couldn't have been more than 6 years old. She was also holding a little plushie of a Mew in her arm. "Everybody steer clear of the pods while the process is going on!" He yelled.

A large force began sucking air into the hole opened from the ceiling and began having an effect on the pod below it. Not just any pod, the pod Brock was being held in before he was let out. The pod rose off of the ground and flew through the hole in the ceiling. Just moments later the hole clamped shut and the loud noises ceased from all around.

"Ha! He took an empty pod!" Abel observed. "What a fool!"

"Don't count your blessings yet, idiot. You should be _wishing_ someone was in that pod." Silver said in a dismissive tone. "That's a bad omen if I've ever seen one. We've been lucky to get this far without anyone noticing but as soon as sees that pod-"

"He'll know what we're up to." Max finished. May had since regained enough consciousness to stand on her own, so he had rejoined the escapade. "Then we may have to consider leaving behind anyone not already rescued, at least for now. We're only about a third of the way done." He observed all the many strangers they had managed to get to. People of all shapes and sizes. "We should get who we have out of here while we can."

"I'm staying." Sycamore said. "I recognize quite a few of these people. People whose careers I started. I feel an obligation to save them while I can."

"But-"

"Well we're out of here!" Jessie exclaimed. "I need to find Meowth." The room was soon filled with agreements from the people that had already been freed. Sycamore looked to Paul who nodded in return.

"Alright. Listen up!" Paul yelled in a demanding voice. "We're going to compromise here!" Sycamore was right to have Paul do the talking. There was something about his voice that was so demanding of both attention and respect. "I'm taking anyone who wants to split out of here! My friends, and Max I guess, will stay here and continue to free the people! Good?!"

"No!" The voice of May called. "I'm staying too!"

"So am I!" Cilan joined in. "I will not allow people to stay in a place that has an aroma stinking of-"

"Look I really don't have time for you or really care all that much." Paul interrupted. "If you two traitors want to stay here, fine! Let's go people!" He said gesturing to the door.

~The Heart~

As the targeted pod began to rise into the room from below, Ash held his head in his hands. Why couldn't he have just gone quietly. He had to agree with what they were saying. Now one of his friends was going to pay the price because everyone couldn't keep their mouths shut. It was probably going to be Brock or Paul too. Aaron obviously wanted to cement his power over Ash.

The pod was still rising when a new group ran through the busted door and the first of them came to a stop next to Anabel and Kidd. "Who busted the door?" Clemont asked. "you could've just opened it."

"I thought I ordered for you to be put to work." Aaron observed. "Did they really let you out of their sights that fast?" He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Idiots."

Serena ran in next. "Ash! Get away from him! He's an evil psycho! I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier but the scumbag took my Braxien!"

"And _you_. I should've locked you up, not your Braxien. You've been nothing but a pain since you got here. What a waste of such a pretty face." He scowled. "But now that you're all together, I can put on a show for all of you. All of you will see that fighting me is useless!"

Mairin, with Chespie in her arms, carefully stepped around the debris of the door and calmly took her place by Serena. "What's he screaming about? I'm not sure I understand. Is he talking about that weird magic trick he did before?"

"It's not magic little girl." Aaron said sternly. "It's the glory of aura." By now the pod was clearly visible to everyone in the room. Kidd was the first to take note of it though. Everybody else was busy with their fight with Aaron.

"Well I hope you're planning on stealing the tube's life force." Kidd remarked. "Cause there's nothing else for you to steal." She pointed at the tube behind him.

Aaron turned around to face the pod that was labeled on the top as Brock Victor Stone. "What blasphemy is this?!" He yelled. He grabbed Ash's wrist and stomped over to his computer, dragging the boy with him the whole way.

"What is Ash doing?" Serena asked. "Why isn't he fighting him?"

"Because Aaron's promised him our safety." Anabel said sourly. "He's joined forces with the enemy, and if it comes to it, we'll fight him too."

"Have a little faith." Kidd said smiling. "Look at that look of relief on his face. He's had it since he saw the empty pod. I have a feeling he won't be on Aaron's side much longer."

"Butler, what is going on, here! I want an immediate situation report or it's going to be you who's next in line for the podding process!"

'Sir, we've tried to reach you but you turned your comm off.' Butler replied. 'After Silver and Bill took those captives to the collection, they went off the grid, their locators aren't working and they won't answer their comms. As soon as we lost their signals, Pod C7 went offline followed by several others.'

"Traitors! How many pods are offline?"

'A little over a third of all pods have been deactivated.' Butler responded. 'Including most of your 'insurance' pods.'

"Put the whole factory on lockdown! No one leaves, no employees, no guests, no pokemon! Do I make myself clear, Butler?"

'Yes, my liege.' Butler responded. 'Initiating lockdown procedure in t minus two minutes.'

"You've got one." Aaron ordered. He turned around a face a very smug looking group of teens.

"Looks like our friends aren't in as much trouble as you thought they were, huh?" Anabel smiled. "You didn't honestly think we didn't have a plan for our captured friends, did you? All we needed was for one of us to be captured and let your employees lead us right to your 'collection' as you call it."

Aaron took a deep breath. "You must think you're very clever. I must admit I did underestimate you and your plan. I thought I had eyes on all of you, but clearly, I missed a few rats. But enjoy that small victory because it's the last one you'll have. Once this place locks down, no one leaves unless I say so."

"Maybe, but as of right now, you seem to be losing control. And you've lost enough that Ash doesn't have to comply anymore, right Ash?" Anabel asked. "Brock's fine. Dawn's probably found Paul by now, and we're all here. You already acknowledged that Pikachu doesn't want you to throw away your life for him, right?"

"Yeah." He said turning to his best friend. He scratched behind the little mouse's ear. "I know."

"Go ahead, Ash." Aaron said shooing him away. "Join them."

"What?" Ash asked snapping his head towards Aaron. "Really?"

"Of course, but know as soon as I recapture your friends, you'll rejoin me again. We can play this game as long as you want, kids. I've got all the time in the world. But do you?" He smiled. He walked back to his computer and sat down.

"Is it normal for him to have such abnormal mood swings?" Kidd asked. "He went from insane, to confident, to angry, to calm, in like ten minutes."

"Maybe his old age is getting to him." Serena said. "He had to be, like, a hundred before he stole Greta's youth."

"Or maybe he's just nuts." Clemont added.

"Boys and girls, I'm much older than one hundred, and I'm certainly not 'nuts'." He said from his computer. "Butler, I want those pods repaired immediately."

'Sir, some of your employees have rebelled. Including your mechanics.' Butler reported. 'The intruders have also overtaken the collection room. There's a little blonde girl and a Zygarde guarding the door and blasting anyone who gets close.'

"Told ya they wouldn't keep her down." Clemont said. "No one's ever been able to control her!"

"Hmm...that's to be expected, I suppose." Aaron said. "They want to buy themselves enough time to save all the hostages. The more hostages they release, the more power I lose. This is getting rather annoying. Continue to try to break the barrier. Taking down Zygarde is your number one priority. He's to be defeated by any means necessary. And have the scientists ready my failsafe. Do not fail me, Butler."

'Yes sir. Before I go, it seems most of your ex-captives have been dispatched, and are looking for a way out. They are one their way to the main floor as we speak.'

"Well then catch them! Do I have to spell everything out?" He slammed his fist down onto his keyboard ending the call. He swiveled his chair around to face the group of defiant teens. "Do not think you've won. I have a few more tricks up my sleeve. I haven't even hit my failsafe yet. I've been looking for the perfect partner for over a thousand years! And I'm not about to lose him because of a bunch of _brats_!"

"Did he say over _one thousand years_?" Mairin asked.

XXXXX

Paul, with the help of Bill, had successfully led the victims all the way up to the main floor with no interference at all. He and Bill were leading everyone else along a turn. There pack was at least a couple hundred strong so even accounting for all the people who would no longer listen to Aaron without the needs of a loved one being held over their heads and the people preoccupied with Sycamore's group, Paul guessed the chances of getting out of there without at least some resistance was still very low. And everybody else had been having similar thoughts too.

"It sounded like he put us in emergency lockdown back there." Bill said. "Can't be sure until we get to an exit or a window, though. "Right turn ahead, everybody!" He called back over his shoulder.

Bill and Paul turned the corner just for Bill to be shoved to the side and Paul tackled at lightning speed. "Paul!" The assaulter yelled. He fell onto his back causing some to take a step back and give him room.

"It's a grunt!" One person yelled.

"Don't let her get away!" Another cried.

"No guys." Paul said. On closer inspection, though you would notice that this wasn't an attacking type tackle, but more of an affectionate one. She was currently enveloping his body in a giant bone crushing hug, smiling the whole time. "She's cool." He said hugging her back. She planted a quick peck on his lips, then pulled away and got herself to her feet quickly before offering a hand to Paul. He took it happily and she began pulling him up. Halfway to his feet, she let go of his hand causing him to fall back onto his back slamming his head on the floor. "Ow, Damn it! What was that for?!"

Piplup quickly turned the corner as well, panting heavily. He took his place at Dawn's side just as Paul hoisted himself up on his own this time, and began dusting his sleeves off. Beside Piplup, Dawn crossed her arms and stuck her nose in the air. "You left me and Piplup in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of a contest, with no way to contact you."

"What?!" Paul's eyes shot open as he yelled. "I _saved_ you! Did you hit your head while I was gone?!"

"I'm not some damsel! I don't need you to be 'my hero'." She scoffed. "And I don't need to be saved!"

"You lost the battle!" Paul argued pointing at her. "He was going to take you! So, I did the right thing and let myself go in your place! I repeat, I _saved_ you!"

"I. Didn't. Need. Saving!" Dawn yelled back leaning forward and glaring.

"Yes. You. Did! Don't you have any gratitude?!" Paul snapped leaning forward and meeting her glare. The two just stood there for a moment.

During the silence Meowth finally rounded the corner, Head down, arms drooping and legs wobbly. "You guys run way too fast. Would it kill you to wait for the people with shorter legs?" He asked looking up.

"Meowth!" Both Jessie and James yelled pushing various people in the crowd. "You're okay!" They ran and picked the little scratch cat off the ground and pulled him into a group hug.

"Good to see you too, buddies! Let's never play the hero again! It never ends well!" Meowth cried. Meowth noticed the two teens glaring at each other. "What's with them? Trouble in paradise?"

Dawn glare softened and she started to chuckle. Paul soon followed suit and for a moment they were just chuckling but it quickly evolved to full laughter. Everybody eyed they two carefully.

Dawn backed away and wiped a tear of laughter out of her eye. "I missed arguing with you." She said happily.

"I know." Paul acknowledged. "Never a dull moment. That's what I love about you." He smiled.

"So great to see the two of you are having a good time," Jessie said sarcastically. "but we still need to get out of this hellhole!" She yelled. "You've got a group of hundreds waiting for you two to end your love fest!"

"Well, what do you think?" Paul asked offering his hand. "Do you want to get out of this place, now?"

Dawn nodded and grabbed his hand. "The sooner, the better."


	18. May Pleads Her Case

~Pokeball Factory~

~Lower Levels~

With a third of all the captives already released and on their way to the exit, Sycamore and his group decided they had no more time to waste, they had to stop searching for their friends and release everyone. Sycamore had already voiced his concerns about being able to reach everyone before someone came to stop them when grunts began firing multiple attacks into the large room in an attempt to stop their progress. Currently Bonnie and Lucy were holding off the entrance with Zygarde and Seviper. Luckily, it's a lot easier to defend a single narrow hallway, rather than a widely open space like outside.

Everybody was busy working with helping out people they didn't know, except for Cilan. Cilan was looking for someone specific and important to him. Iris. Iris was, at this point, besides his pokemon, the only real friend he had. The only one who he knew understood what happened on that day he betrayed Ash. 'I'm coming Iris.' He thought. 'I won't leave you behind any longer. Besides, if I'm going to even have a chance at pleading my case, I need you.' He kept walking past the 'J' and 'K' holding sections and made his way to the 'L's' with Pansage following closely behind. "Why couldn't she have ever told me her last name before all this happened?" He wondered out loud.

A single pod finally caught his eye. This particular pod was labeled Iris Esmerelda Leigh and held inside the jungle girl Cilan knew and loved. "Pansage! We found her!" He exclaimed. "Cut her loose!" He ordered his monkey friend. Pansage nodded and used Magical Leaf to slice through the metal and the correct wire under it. The resulting loss in power caused the tube to lose all fluids inside. Iris's eyes slowly fluttered open and she gradually began regaining her conscious. The door to the prison pod flew open and Iris slipped out of the pod. Unlike the others, however, she landed on her feet. Cilan wondered how her reflexes and awareness were so good despite her situtation, but he guessed for someone who lives in the trees, it made sense. "Iris?" He tried putting a hand on her shoulder. "You there?"

Iris's head snapped up to meet Cilan's gaze. "Cilan?" She took a quick look around her. "Where are we? What happened to Oak and that other guy?"

Cilan enveloped her in a hug. "I'm so glad you're safe! We've been out of it for a long time." He pulled away from the hug. "We were too late. Whoever this guy is, he had Oak take us out of the picture long before we could get to Ash. He put us both in stasis pods. Max told me the date. It's been over a year that we've been out of it."

"A year? Well then what are we doing awake?" Iris asked ruffling her hair. "How'd you get out? Malfunction?" She guessed.

Cilan shook his head. "Paul let me out, though I don't think he really wanted to." He told her. "He called me a traitor. No one knows the truth, Iris."

"Paul, huh?" She said scratching her chin. "Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's tell Ash what really happened!" She insisted. "Where is the little kid?"

"Apparently with that girl from Kalos, Serena. There's no way they'll let us anywhere near him." Cilan said. "They think we're monsters. We need to start smaller. Brock is my friend. Or at least, he _used_ to be. If we can convince him to help us, maybe we'll have a chance a salvaging this relationship."

Iris looked to her left to the pod standing next to the one she was in. "Well if you plan on pleading a case, it might be a good idea to let her out, too." Iris suggested pointing at the stasis tube. "We could use the help."

"I don't know...we don't know that she was manipulated like we were." Cilan admitted. "We might be better off on our own, don't you think?" He tilted his head.

"She was Ash's friend, too. If she liked him half as much as we did, she was just as much a tool as we were. We can't leave her. Wasn't she Ash's first traveling companion? Surely, she was played just like us." Iris insisted. Cilan paused for a moment before giving a slight nod. They both turned to the tube they were referring to. Inside was Ash's earliest traveling companion. An orange haired girl floated silently in a deep slumber, with a small frown on her face. Iris pulled out a ball from her pocket and it opened in her hand. A bright light shot from the ball and into her hair. Seconds later, a little dragon popped his head out of her poof.

"Xew." She cried. "Axew."

Meanwhile Brock was off alone helping a rather attractive young lady out of her pod with the help of his trusted Crobat. Everyone was sure that in any other situation there would be multiple proposals going on but despite the woman chaser Brock was known for being, he did know when to put that passion to the side. He grabbed the soaked girl from inside the pod and lay her up against the pod before moving on. "Come on, Crobat." He said waving forward. "We're not even close to done yet."

"Crobat."

"Do you think you could use a couple more pairs of hands over here?" A familiar feminine voice asked.

Brock turned to find May and Max behind him both with their pokemon Grovyle and Blaziken with them. Brock let out a deep sigh. "Normally I would say no, but I'm the only one working in this section, so if you must." He gave in. "I'll take this one. You two take those." He ordered pointing down at the pods next to the one he was working with.

May brought he Blaziken to the left of Brock and with a swift Sky Uppercut, slashed right through the metal in front of her. "So... how's Ash been?" May asked carefully. "You know since-"

"Since you betrayed him?" Brock finished. "Sad, angry, untrusting, nothing unusual wouldn't you say?" He asked bitterly as Crobat fired of a bunch of Razor Winds.

"Brock, I don't know what happened that day, but it wasn't my fault." May said quietly. "You know me-"

"I thought I did." Brock interrupted. "You didn't just hurt Ash that day, you know. I lost friends that day, too. I lost the nice girl I traveled all of Hoenn with and her little brother who I remember being so loyal and full of wonder."

"I would never hurt Ash. And neither would Max." May insisted. "Max was having his pokemon held hostage-"

"I know all about Max's situation. Ash told me everything just before I was kidnapped." Brock assured her reaching into the pod in front of him and pulling out a young boy. "You awake kid?" He asked shaking the little boy gently.

"Huh? Lane? Wait...you're not my big brother." The boy said backing away. He slammed into the machinery behind him. "Where am I?! Where's Lane?!" The boy shouted.

"Calm down." Brock said calmly. "We're going to get you reunited with you brother, I promise. But I need you to do exactly what I tell you, okay?" The little boy nodded. "First, I need you to calm down. Take this berry." He said handing him a blue berry with pours all over it. "It'll calm your anxiety." The boy popped the berry into his mouth and sat down. "Stay there. I have more people to rescue, but we will find your brother."

"Okay." The little boy agreed happily. Brock walked past both May and Max and moved on to the pod to the right of Max.

"I see you still have a gifted way with people." Max said. "It reminds me of how you used to defuse every negative emotion while we were traveling through Hoenn together."

"Yeah, well, having so many siblings does help prepare you for dealing with people younger than yourself." Brock admitted.

"Listen Brock, I know what you may think of us, but if we could just have a chance with Ash to explain what really happened-" May tried.

"May!" Brock growled silencing her. He shook his head and sighed again. "No one here wants to believe you more than me, but I was there. You watched as Oak held us captive. Paul told me you stood by while Oak shot at Ash. And you're asking me, his _friend_ , to look past that and believe that somehow it wasn't your fault?" He asked calmly.

"I didn't know what I was doing! It was almost like my will wasn't my own." May said while she and Blaziken lifted an older man out of the pod. "Sir, we're going to get you out of here, just sit down. You may experience a loss of strength from being locked up so long."

"Thank you, young lady." He slumped down and immediately rested his head back, falling into an unconscious state. "I'm just gonna rest my eyes." He said weakly.

"I don't even remember it all that well." May continued. "I can't explain it well, but it's almost like it was a dream and not a memory."

"They're telling you the truth." Another person added. Behind him, his old buddy Cilan, along with Iris and a drowsy Misty joined the group of three. Misty was currently being held up by Iris as her only means of support. "Oak told us so. Before he captured us." Cilan said. "It was a set-up from his invitation to come meet with Ash with him to the moment he shot poor Pikachu."

"He bragged on and on about how easy we were to manipulate. Our emotions were tampered with." Iris added. "Then he and his Dragonite attacked and... nothing. Nothing until Cilan released me just now."

"And you traveled two whole regions with me. You know my feelings for Ash." Misty added weakly. "As soon as that gunshot went off, I woke up. It was like waking up from a nightmare."

"Whether you were in control of your emotions or not is completely irrelevant to most. You really hurt Ash, and if what you say is true, and you were manipulated, well it doesn't make things much better does it?" Brock said knowingly. "You were all driving forces in Pikachu's disablement. That's not something I see Ash forgiving just because you were feeling angrier than usual."

"But it's more than that!" May argued. Max decided that, at the moment, they were fighting a losing battle trying to convince Brock. So he cut his losses and moved on to the next tube down. There he found something rather shocking.

"Brock!" a feminine voice called.

Brock groaned. "What now?!" He pivoted to find The Pike Queen staring back at him. "Oh. It's you, Lucy. What is it?"

"Bonnie and I managed to fight back the grunts for now." Lucy reported. "Bonnie told me to come and help you." Lucy told him, blushing slightly. She leaned to the left and looked past him to see who he was talking with. She recognized May and Max but instantly remembered Brock telling her what they had done to Ash. "What are _they_ doing anywhere near you, Brock? Are they bothering you? I can take care of them for-"

"I can take care of them." Brock interrupted. He turned back to the group of 'traitors'. "If you want to prove you aren't the terrible people he thinks you are, then maybe you should shut up and help these hostages instead of wasting precious time." Brock suggested. "Then maybe, just maybe, Ash might give you the time of day."

"Hey Lucy!" Max called from a few pods down. "Found Greta!" He announced pointing forward.

May joined Max in front of Greta and cringed. "Why does it look like time hit her in the face with a Crabhammer?!" She asked.

"What? Greta!" Lucy exclaimed. She pushed Brock to the side and ran towards the younger man. "You found her?!"

"Yeah. There's Tucker, too!" He said pointing to the pod right next to Greta's. " _He's_ looking like himself, at least." Max observed.

Everybody else dropped what they were doing and joined Max and May in front of the Frontier Brains locked away in suspended animation. Lucy was a lot closer to Greta, so naturally she checked on her first. "Ooh." She squinted her eyes shut and looked away. "Greta, what did they do to you?" She asked desperately. "Seviper, come back out please!"

"What's the big deal?" Iris asked. "A little moisturizer and the old lady's wrinkles will go away in a cinch." She shrugged. "The elder at the Village of Dragons used to make a killer moisturizer out of berries, moss, and Weedle dung. The old lady'll look a decade younger in just one week."

"Idiot! Do you live under a rock?!" Lucy snapped.

"No, I do not!" Iris snapped back. "I much prefer the trees!"

Seviper slashed through the metal with its tail and waited for further directions. "That's Greta Dey!" No response was heard from the jungle girl. "The Arena Tycoon?!" Lucy snapped at Iris once again. "She's 22! She looks like she's 70!"

"Abel told me about this. Apparently, the bad guy stole her youth from her and used it to make himself younger." Max told her. "I kinda thought he was exaggerating. I don't even know how that's possible."

"Seviper, cut the black one." Brock advised. "That'll release her from her prison." Seviper slashed the thick wire in front of him and the pod began losing power gradually. "Max, get Tucker out." Brock ordered.

"Right." Max pointed forward and Grovyle's Leaf Blade followed its path.

Meanwhile, Greta was officially the oldest person they had released, meaning Brock, Lucy, and Misty were taking even more care than usual as to not damage he any further than she was right now. Cilan and Iris both realizing they weren't needed, or really wanted, decided to go off to the next few tubes. "Greta?! Greta, can you hear me?!" Lucy begged. "Oh, Greta. If only I'd gotten here instead of getting kidnapped like a weak rookie!" She cursed.

"Hey, don't talk like that." Brock said taking Greta's right arm and wrapping it around his shoulder. "Maybe we can find a way to reverse the process." Brock said.

"But we don't even know what he did!" Max said. He let out a grunt of pain as May elbowed him in the side, shutting him up. "I mean, yeah, anything's possible." He said rubbing his side.

As the Dome Ace slumped out of his pod, May caught him only to be hit in the face with the wings, or feathers, or whatever they were supposed to be, attached to the back of his costume. May did her best to hold Tucker up but she just wasn't strong enough. Eventually Max joined her in supporting the brain. Tucker eventually managed to come to his senses and realize he was being held up by two younger trainers. "Ah! Are you here for autographs?! That'll be-hey wait a minute...you're Ash's pals. I remember now!" He exclaimed. "Some crazy super old guy-"

"Is after Ash." Max finished. "We know. But right now, we're here to save _you_."

Tucker shook his head. He pushed both Max and May off of him and jumped into the air. He did a twirl and landed in front of the siblings facing them with seriousness. "I do not need to be saved anymore!" He said. "But we must find Ash."

"Anabel's probably already found him by now." Max said. "She said she could sense him or something. We need to get everybody out of here!"

"They're back!" Bonnie called from the entrance. "We've got more grunts!" They were all lucky this place echoed like an underground cave or they wouldn't have heard her.

Max looked around. While they had been focusing on the Frontier Brains, everyone else had been releasing people like crazy. It was to the point where there was another uprising starting. People who didn't fully understand the situation they were in getting restless and wanting to take things into their own hands. "If only we could get people out of here without using the door." Max said.

"Teleportation." Tucker said. "That's what you're wanting. Sadly, my Metagross is back at the Battle Dome with all of my adoring fans." He said.

"And my Kirlia is with Professor Birch." Max added.

"If teleportation is what you want," Lucy stated. "then I suppose I can help." She called out a new pokemon, one no one, even her colleagues, knew she owned. The pokeball opened and released a large pulse of light that faded to reveal a small humanoid pokemon floating silently in one place.

"An Abra?" Brock asked. "But I thought you only liked serpentine pokemon." He said.

"I also have another kind I like-" She said looking away from Brock.

"Which is...?" Tucker prompted. "The people would love to know."

Lucy sighed. She stood there for a moment before mumbling slightly. She mumbled a single sentence before looking back up. Everybody stared at her for a moment. She groaned loudly. "I think pokemon with squinty eyes are cute, okay!" She said angrily. Tucker tilted his head and everyone just stood in amazement.

"Whoa." Max said realizing the implications there. He cried out in pain again as May slammed her foot down on his and shushing him.

"So, the truth comes out." Tucker said bemusedly.

"Shut up! Look you wanted someone who could teleport." Lucy said trying to change the subject and hide her blush at the same time. "Abra can."

Brock shook all current thoughts out of his head and cleared his throat. "Right. So, he can teleport everyone away?"

"Well, I don't know how long he'd be able to keep a teleportation table up before running out of stamina. He also can't go anywhere unfamiliar. He either has to know the place he's teleporting or he can read the minds of those who teleport with him and go somewhere they know." Lucy explained.

"Sycamore's lab." Max said. "It's safe, out of the way, and large enough to hold everyone." He said. "We just need Professor Sycamore. Abra will take everyone to Professor Sycamore's lab while we keep freeing people and Bonnie holds off the oncoming grunts. Once everyone's out of here, Professor Sycamore can start working on getting everybody back to their homes. I'll go grab the Professor, Abra can take Greta and Tucker first."

~The Heart~

"Did he just say over a thousand years." Mairin asked. "Is he delusional? How can any human live for over a thousand years?"

"I should think it obvious." Aaron chuckled. "By stealing the life force from others. Every fifteen years or so my body begins to revert back to its true age so I need to siphon the living aura from others to keep myself alive. It's a bit of a nasty process for those not on the receiving end, but that's life for you, some people are just predestined to survive, while others to perish."

"And you take innocent people from their families to fuel that need." Anabel scowled. "How do you live with yourself?"

"I'll have you know that I have never taken the life force of anyone innocent." Aaron argued calmly. "It's the people who fight me, who discover my secret and demonize me for it that I end up using. That boy Red for instance. Years ago, he nearly exposed my secret to the world. So, I drained him for every last bit of aura he had." Aaron shook his head. "A lot of good that did. His aura didn't even last as long as the minimum expectancy. But it matters not. Now I have your blonde friend's aura, and it seems I'm back to my old self again."

"That's it!" Ash yelled. "You and me are gonna battle here and now! I've had enough of sitting here and listening to you tell me all about these terrible things you've done and tried to do to my friends! I'm going to beat you while you still have no power over me!"

"No power over you, you say? What about healing Pikachu? Have you stopped caring?" Aaron asked not standing up from his chair. "Are you ready to damn him to a life of disability?"

"Don't... _EVER_...accuse me of not caring about Pikachu, lowlife!" Ash growled. "I would fight the world for my little buddy, but you..." He said pointing at Aaron. "you won't help me or Pikachu! You want to _enslave_ us! I'm done listening to you. And we're gonna fight!" He dropped his duffle bag on the ground. "My best versus your best."

"Ash, I don't want to humiliate you in front of your friends." Aaron chuckled. "Besides, what would I get from this battle? If I win would you join me? For good this time?" Aaron asked.

"Not in a million years." Ash shot back "But we're still fighting!"

"I say we all fight him!" Anabel said. She quickly pulled out her most trusted pokemon's pokeball, Espeon. "He still hasn't payed for what he did to Greta!"

"And Braxien!" Serena added. "And then he tries to poach Ash and turn him against us!"

"And you should have seen how his goon battled outside." Clemont joined in. "Thirty on one isn't exactly a fair battle. If that's his battle etiquette, then how do we know he plays fair here. He's just lucky that all my pokemon are out, or he'd have to deal with me too."

Aaron groaned. "Kids, you are hardly worth my time. That's why my underlings were sent to detain you. None of you have the skill to fight me." Aaron said. "But Ash, I suppose I can grant your wish and fight, I'll even give you an advantage, it'll be eight of yours versus six of mine. Good enough odds for you?"

"I don't need an advantage! Don't you know the heroes always win?!" Ash shouted.

"Very well, but don't say I never offered." Aaron shrugged. He stood up from his chair, pushing down on his legs for stability as he did so. "It'll be a simple six on six singles battle."

"Ash! Take these!" Serena yelled tossing him his two missing pokeballs. "Found them in the lab!"

Ash caught both balls in his hand. "Charizard! Noivern! Thanks, Serena!" He said.

"I was there too, but hey, don't mention it." Mairin grumbled.

Ash dropped both balls into the open duffle bag. "You're in trouble now."

"Oh no." He said sarcastically. "Whatever will I do. Ash, I didn't want to force you to join me, I gave you every chance to join me of your own will, even offering you the best luxuries you could ask for, but you still refuse." He turned his comm on once again and it lit up with a bright green light. "Butler, is it ready?"

'Yes sir, I've already sent it to you. Khan should be there any second now. We did just as you instructed.' Butler responded. 'It has been prepped and spit shined.'

"Good. I can't wait." He smiled. "Be sure to set yourself and any others still loyal up in a Trick Room as soon as possible." Aaron ordered. "You can call back all grunts that are currently trying to break through to the collection room. Obviously, they can't win." Aaron ordered shutting off his comm. "It seems your friends underground have been able to fight off my grunts, but it doesn't matter. They'll never evacuate all of my captives in time."

"In time for what?" Kidd asked.

"Sir! Your staff!" The group of intruding teens turned around to find an older man in a lab coat bowing with a long stick in his hands. At end of the stick was a blue orb held in place by several small branches curled around it. He walked past Ash and his friends and came to a halt in front of his boss. He turned the staff to its side and presented it to Aaron.

Aaron smiled and carefully took the staff from Khan and examined it. "Yes. This is exactly what I needed. Khan, leave us. Ash wants a battle, he'll get one." Aaron twirled the stick in his left hand for a moment before slamming the bottom end of it onto the ground. Upon contact, the floor immediately lit up with a blue glow than soon surrounded the entire room.

"What's going on?!" Serena asked observing the room. "What is that?!"

"Aura." Ash answered simply. "What are you up to now? And what's up with the stick? You gonna club us to death? I expected more from you."

"As you should." Aaron smirked. "This staff belonged to the leader of the Aura Guardians of Old. In my younger years, after the fall of the Guardians I managed to...confiscate it." He chuckled. "You'd think for such a powerful artifact they'd have a better security system for it. Simply put, this staff will amplify my abilities to levels the likes of which you've never seen. Whenever the Guardians couldn't beat an opponent by traditional means, they would call upon the staff's power, in order to give them the force to overpower anyone."

"What's so special about it?" Clemont asked pushing his glasses up. "I don't recognize the jewel at the end of it."

"The gem is something only found in a very remote region of the world just outside the Oblivia region. It's capable of harboring the powers of the Guardians Council that I've siphoned into it back in my youth." He gave a single laugh. "The fools."

"Wait a minute..." Kidd said. "Was it you, then? Are you the one-"

"Who killed the Aura Guardians of the olden days? Yes and no. I set everything up. I killed some, my lackeys killed the others, but a few evaded me. I suppose it's possible that the offspring of those who escaped are still out there somewhere,"

"Riley." Ash realized.

"but they're no match for me. I thought I had gotten rid of their empire. So, imagine my surprise, when I found that _you_ , Ash Ketchum, had immense ties to aura despite seemingly having no guardian blood in you, and you were going around playing the hero across the world. It's quite remarkable."

"So that's why you really want Ash." Anabel concluded. "It's not that you care for him in the slightest. It's that he's the only one with Aura Guardian abilities, the only one who can beat you."

"Don't get cocky. You'll still lose this fight. I gave you every chance I could, but if these friends are such a distraction, perhaps I should get rid of them first."

"I won't let you." Ash glared. "I won't let you ever hurt anyone again." He promised. "Especially not my friends." He turned back to his friends. "I don't know what that staff's going to do, but you guys should get out of here, leave the rest to me."

"Pika!" Pikachu agreed. "Kaa."

"It's no use." Aaron said shaking his head. "There's nowhere to run, the staff will reach anyone and everyone within this factory. And we're still on emergency lockdown."

"You guys need to go and find a way out of this factory, just in case I really do lose this!" Ash said turning back to Aaron. "Before it's too late, go!"

"If you think I'm leaving you alone with him again-!" Serena shouted.

"He's already threatened to kill you guys! He needs me! If you don't find the others and leave now, then we're all at risk. Get as many out as you can."

"Well I'm not going anywhere." Anabel said. "I came all this way to bring you home alive. And that's what I'm gonna do."

"That's what _we're_ going to do." Serena corrected. "I'm staying too."

"And me." Clemont added. "You're my brother Ash, I would never forgive myself for leaving you here. Besides, all you have to do is win, Ash. Beat him and we can all go home together."

"What about Bonnie?" Ash asked.

"Bonnie's fine. She's with the Professor, probably on her way out of the factory by now. Besides if I ran after her, I'd just get lost."

"Guys..." Ash said softly. "Alright, fine, you win. But everybody stay back!"

~Lower Levels~

~Collection Room~

Max had brought Professor Sycamore back the 'J' section of the collection room and the both of them now stood with Brock, Lucy, May, Tucker, and Greta, who was being held in Tucker's arms. Misty had gone off to help Iris and Cilan release the rest of the people. They along with Molly were currently clearing out the last of the 'K' section. Abra floated up to eye level with Professor Sycamore and slowly brought up his index finger connecting it to Sycamore's forehead. A pink flash surrounded Abra's finger for a moment before he tore it away from Sycamore.

Arba turned around and pointed towards the south end of the room and in another flash of bright pink light a small portal ripped open in front of the group. Inside the portal a rippling image of the corral at Professor Sycamore's lab could be seen. "Thanks, Abra." Lucy said. "Don't worry Professor, we'll save everyone before joining you. We're almost done here, so you can take everyone."

"What about Ash?" Tucker asked. "Are you guys going to leave him here when you're done?"

"Of course not." May said. "We need to start making up for what we did, and the only way to do that is make sure he makes it out of here in one piece."

"Alright." Sycamore said. "Make sure that you do. I've grown rather attached to him as of recent."

"We will." Brock promised. "I'm not letting him go without a fight, either." Sycamore nodded. He turned around and gestured for the frontier brain to follow. In a single step he traversed the portal and in a blip of light disappeared from the room. Tucker followed behind him quickly.

Brock turned to May and Max. "You two," He said pointing at them. "I'm still not sure about you guys, but we need to work together, so you inform all of the people we've released that they need to go through that portal, from there Sycamore can work on reconnecting them with any family they might have."

"Kind of makes you wish we hadn't sent Paul away with so many of the others." Max said. "If we could've just had them wait, we could get all of them out now, too."

"We can't change that now. I'm sure they'll find their own way out." Brock replied.

"Mrs. Ketchum!" Molly's voice cried. "I'll get you out of there!" Brock, May and Max's heads snapped their heads towards the source of the little rich girl's voice.

"Uh oh." May said. Beside her, Brock and Max took off towards Molly and May soon followed behind.

"Hold on, Molly!" Brock called. The group of three were too late. They reached Molly just in time for her Teddiursa to cut the power. Like all the pods before, the liquids drained.

"Somebody catch her!" Molly cried. The door flung open and Delia fell face first out of it colliding with the ground with great force.

"Oops." Brock said disingenuously. "Guess I was too slow." He shrugged.

Meanwhile the shock from hitting the floor seemed to be enough to wake Delia from her induced slumber. She gasped heavily. "My body! I can't feel my body." She tilted her head up from the ground without moving her head to find Brock, Max, May, and Molly looking down at her. "Oh, dear. It's you." She said. "Well? Help me up! I can't use my legs! Or my arms!"

"You know," Brock said turning to Max. "I'm not a vindictive person but this," He said turning back to Delia. "this feels right."

Max nodded. "I love irony."

"Vyle." His trusted partner nodded behind him.

"What are you doing?!" Molly yelled. "Help her up!" She went to take a step forward only to be stopped by May, who put a hand on her shoulder to hold her back. Molly turned back to her. "Hey! Careful! This dress wasn't _cheap_ you know! And why aren't we helping her up?!"

"Because I'm not sure she deserves it." Brock told her. He took a knee in front of Delia, resting one arm on his knee. "Not after what you did to Ash." He said glaring at her. "And Pikachu."

"What I did to Ash?! What about what Aaron did to _me_?!" Delia glared back, still unmoving. "'Just get your son out of the way, and I'll leave you out of my invasion.' he said. Then I do what he said and he still sends his goons to kidnap me! I wouldn't have done that to Ash if I didn't have to!"

"So, that's it, huh? You sold out your own son, a kid with a heart of gold who saved countless lives, for your own safety?" Brock asked. "You had to." He got back up to his feet.

"What do you mean 'sold out'?" Molly asked. "I'm so confused."

"She attacked Ash to help this mad man to ensure he didn't capture her and lock her up with the rest of these innocent people." Brock said. "And now she's apparently angry that she did what this guy, who she knew was a bad guy, wanted and he didn't keep his word. Thought you were smarter than that, Delia." He said with disdain.

"You attacked Ash?" Molly asked. "And Pikachu? Are you responsible for his condition?" Molly asked.

"Of course not! That was Oak. All I was supposed to do was tell Ash he wasn't good enough to be a trainer. I would never shoot poor Pikachu! Molly you have to believe me."

"Of course, we should forgive her." May said sarcastically. "She would never shoot Pikachu. She would only ever emotionally scar her son. Is that so wrong?" May shook her head.

"You betrayed him, too! Both you and Max did!" Delia pointed out. "You fired an Overheat! I was there remember?"

"I didn't want to." Max growled. "You know that because you were in the room when Oak threatened to take my Treecko away. Right Grovyle?" Behind him Grovyle fired a couple of Bullet Seeds at Delia.

The seeds hit her square in the forehead. "Ow! You little-" She was cut off by May kicking her in the face. "What the hell?!"

" _You_ threatened my little brother?!" May said dangerously. "With his own pokemon? You really are scum." May turned her head to Brock. "Can we leave her here?"

"No." Brock said.

"Why?"

"Because, May, I don't know about you, I'm better than that." Brock told her. "She may deserve to be left here to rot, but if I did leave her, I'd be no better than her. But I'm not going to be the one helping her up."

"Don't look at me." Max said. "I wouldn't touch her with a ten-foot pole."

"I'm not doing it." May argued. "I'm trying to fix my relationship with Ash, not worsen it."

Delia groaned. "Molly, be a dear and help me up. I don't know what happened to me, but I can't move."

Molly bit her lip. "I don't know...what about everything you've done. I don't know if I really want to help you. You were like a mother to me, and now...I don't know what to think."

"That just means you have a conscience, Molly. Unlike some people." Brock said. "We can get someone else to do it." He said turning to walk away. He continued on to the rest of the 'K' section. May and Max ran after him quickly.

"C'mon Grovyle!" Max yelled.

"You too, Blaziken! We've got work to do elsewhere."

Molly hung her head down and followed closely behind the two pokemon. "You can't just leave me here like this!" Delia shouted. "How long until somebody comes and helps me?!"

"Oh, right." Max said. "Careful with your breathing." He advised turning back around. "We don't know the last time this floor was cleaned after all. Hate to think what kind of _disease-ridden_ bacteria are floating around."

* * *

So chapter 18 is finished. Some people might not be happy with the way I've taken this story because most of the traitors are being redeemed and Ash doesn't get any legendary pokemon, but I said from the start that I want this to be different. That being said feel free to tell me what you really think of this. Love it, Hate it, anything, don't pull any punches. I read all reviews left on this story.


	19. Off To A Bad Start

~Hall of Origins~

Arceus and many of the other legends watched closely as Ash and Aaron took up fighting stances. Arceus had known all along that it would come to this. Ash versus Aaron, and the winner would decide the fate of Kalos and possibly the world. Arceus stood by her morals; if she broke a single one then the entire rulebook would be thrown out. And Arceus couldn't allow that to happen.

'Hey Arceus?' Mespirit said turning to her creator. 'What's that staff supposed to do anyway? I've never seen it before.'

'You young one,' Cobalion interjected. 'were not around for its conception. It is quite possibly the most dangerous artifact of the olden days. In the hands of someone like him, that is. To a normal human it would simply be a stick and a rock.'

'Did anyone even know he had it?' Dialga asked. 'Surely we couldn't have missed that.'

'I knew.' Arceus said. 'He took it so long ago that I had forgotten he even had it up until recently. I once ordered one of my Guardians to retrieve it from him. I never heard from her again.'

'So, what's it do?' Mespirit asked. 'How bad can it be?'

'Immensely.' Darkrai added. He and Deoxys had since returned from driving away the invaders in Sinnoh. They had come back just in time to see Ash lose his patience with Aaron. 'Just as he said, it will amplify his powers to a level that no Aura Guardian has reached in over a thousand years. Normally he could only drain the aura of a single person at a time, but with that staff and the aura of the past Guardians inside of it...'

'Who knows how many people he can drain at a time.' Cresselia finished. 'He could drain the entire factory at once for all we know.'

'What!?' Shaymin yelled. 'We have to get everyone out of there! Mostly Dawn, though!' Shaymin said zipping around anxiously. 'Hurry!'

At that moment Mewtwo and Latias blipped into the room thanks to Mewtwo's teleportation. Latias looked much happier but not as much as she was before all this started. Luckily, Arceus had good news for her. 'Latias, Mewtwo,' She acknowledged. 'I trust you mission was a success.'

'Weaklings, all of them.' Mewtwo reported. 'I didn't even have to break a sweat taking ten on at once. I didn't have nearly as much fun as I hoped I would.'

'Well, while you were gone, it seems that the tide has turned. The Professor and that boy, Tory have freed the hostages. There are barely any left.'

'Bianca?!' Latias asked zipping to the vat they used to observe the world. 'Is she free?!'

'Yes. All of the chosen's friends have been freed from their respective prisons and are being led out of the factory.'

'But the staff!' Mespirit exclaimed. 'It could ruin everything!'

'What staff?' Mewtwo asked. 'I thought you said the tide had turned?' He said eyeing Arceus. 'Is Ash in danger?'

'When is Ash _not_ in danger?' Uxie asked turning to Mewtwo. 'I'd say this is just a day in the life of Ash Ketchum. Even if Aaron has the Guardian Staff in his possession.'

There was a dangerous yell, and in seconds a stray purple sphere of psychic power went flying at Arceus. Arceus caught this out of the corner of her eye and reared her head back. In a flash of light, eighteen shards of the same shape but all different colors appeared. To her right a single dark pink shard glowed the brightest and the resulting light caused Arceus's body to take on a much pinker tone. The attack collided with Arceus's side but was immediately absorbed into her body without Arceus making a move. She turned her head to a furious Mewtwo with his left arm outstretched towards her. 'I prefer talking things out.'

'He has the Guardian Staff?!' Mewtwo asked furiously. 'Why weren't we told this from the beginning?!'

'Because this is how you would've reacted then, too. Angrily, and without purpose.' She said knowingly. 'I consulted Cobalion, Terrakion, and Verizion long ago on outside opinions, we all agreed that anyone who went after the staff would be captured. So, we decided it best to keep the information from you for your own safety.'

'Let me get this straight,' Mewtwo said clearly irritated. 'You consulted three pokemon you created,' He said pointing at Arceus 'for an _outside_ opinion? You CREATED them! Of course, they share your points of view! If you wanted an impartial view point you should've consulted me!'

'We may have been created by her, but we have minds and opinions of our own.' Cobalion said calmly. 'And that crazy scientist who created you wasn't even born yet when all this happened.' He retorted. 'You are showing your irrational side right now, aren't you? To say that you should've been asked is ludicrous.'

'So what now then?' Mewtwo asked bitterly. 'What if Ash can't beat that?! What then, oh so great one?!'

'I admit, there is a chance that Ash can't win. But he doesn't necessarily have to.' Arceus said. 'Ash is the Chosen one, but if he falls here, there's one last hope. But I suppose you have a plan Mewtwo?'

'Yes.' Mewtwo said. 'Stop standing around and let me fight with Ash!' He growled. 'It's that simple.'

'I can't do that Mewtwo. I admire you a great deal for your courage to stand up to me and stick to your beliefs so firmly, it's a rare quality to find. But if you fought with Ash and lost, it's likely that Aaron wouldn't let you live past that point.' Arceus revealed. 'And I can't allow that. This world has much more planned for you Mewtwo. You have a home to return to. Your people need protecting. But I can offer you... another quest.'

'You mean another _distraction_.' Mewtwo retorted. The image in the vat changed to that of Dawn and Paul leading their group of refugees to the main door.

'They won't make it out alone.' Arceus observed. 'Those innocent people are much more urgent a matter.' Arceus said.

'More urgent than your Chosen in a life and death battle?' Cresselia asked. 'How so? I fail to see your point of view.'

'My Chosen can take care of himself. He has shown that time and time again. But these people are everyday workers, children, and maybe a few casual trainers. Easily caught, and easily manipulated. It is best we get them out.'

'So that's it? Save the weaklings then report back here? No helping Ash?' Mewtwo pressured. 'What a waste of my time.'

'Helping those who cannot help themselves is never a waste of time.' Arceus said.

'What are you, a freaking fortune cookie now?' Mewtwo asked angrily. 'I've got better things to do than-'

'The blue haired one,' Arceus interrupted. 'and the headstrong boy are his close friends. By helping them, you are helping Ash. It would be in your best interest to get them out.'

Mewtwo crossed his arms angrily. 'I'm done with side quests. I didn't ask for an escort mission.'

'I am well aware of that, but if those people don't get out of there before Aaron has a chance to use that staff, then they have no chance of survival.' Arceus said. 'You can go and help them, or I could always send someone else. What will it be Mewtwo?'

~Pokeball Factory~

Dawn, Paul, and Silver lead the group of captives down the final corridor leading them to the large mechanical front door to the factory. They hadn't been interrupted by a single grunt at any point. Dawn found it almost like she and the other escapees weren't Aaron's number one priority. One problem they still had to face however was the door. The entire factory was still on emergency lockdown, meaning all doors and windows were currently reinforced with multiple layers of thick, solid, metal barriers. Barriers that left no openings anywhere. Silver came to a stop in front of the door and everyone else halted behind him as well. He smacked his face with his right palm hard. "I forgot about the lockdown!" He cursed. "We're boned."

"It's just metal." Paul said. He pulled Absol's pokeball from his pocket and tossed it in the air. "Absol," The disaster pokemon appeared in front of the door ahead of them. "use Flamethrower! Melt that door!" He ordered. Absol nodded and opened his mouth. His mouth was quickly engulfed in a hellfire before the beam of heat shot straight forward towards the door. Once it hit the door, it was stunted for a few seconds before firing right back at the captives.

"Hit the deck!" Dawn yelled. She put a hand on Paul's back before shoving him to the ground violently and tackling Absol to the floor as well.

Most of the others got the hint and ducked in time, but Meowth's tail was just far enough up to be clipped by the flames. "Ouch!" His tail lit up with a tiny fire and Meowth grabbed his tail with both paws, bringing it up to his mouth and blowing on it rapidly. When he eventually got it down far enough, he patted his tail a couple times, officially ending the fire. But leaving behing a patch of missing fur and charred skin underneath. "Watch where you fire that thing! It's gonna take me weeks to regrow my hair back perfectly!"

"Well what now?" Paul asked returning Absol to his pokeball. "Metal's supposed to be weak to fire, right?"

"We could always try freezing it." Dawn suggested. "Then shatter it into a million pieces."

"Pip-Lup" The little penguin agreed.

"Oh, please." Paul scoffed. "That'll never work."

"Oh, and I guess firing molten hot fire at it only to have it ricochet and almost kill everyone was the best idea ever, huh?" Dawn said crossing her arms and looking away with a 'hmph'. "You are so full of yourself."

"You're both wrong." Silver interrupted. "That metal was crafted by our best scientists. It has special properties. Think of it as a mirror. Anything you shoot at it will just be reversed onto the attacker. You'll never get through it with brute force." He informed them.

"Well if you're so knowledgeable, then how do we get through it?" Paul asked irritably.

"That's the point, we can't." Silver answered. "The boss would never make such an easy escape. He's probably watching us on a security camera and laughing at us right now."

'I suppose that's where I come in.' A voice said.

Dawn turned around to see where the voice came from. As she turned, she came to find the Genetic Pokemon inches away from her face. She flinched and, in her stupor, fell backwards onto her ass. She looked back up at the cat-like pokemon. "Who are you?! Where'd you come from?!"

'My name is Mewtwo. And I came from a test tube.' He answered dryly.

"More importantly what are you doing here?" Paul added grabbing Dawn by the shoulders and pulling her to her feet.

'I'm saving your hide since you seem to be incapable.' Mewtwo answered. Paul growled at him and reached for a pokeball, but Dawn grabbed his arm and shook her head at him. 'Any more questions or are you going to let me help you?'

"Hey I remember you!" Meowth pushed through the crowd and made his way up to Mewtwo. "Are you the same Mewtwo from-"

'Yes. As far as I know, I'm the only Mewtwo. It is good to see you again, Meowth.' Mewtwo said. 'I'm here on orders to get you all out of here before Aaron kills you all.' The crowd behind Mewtwo started being overcome with gasps, cries, and screams before devolving into chaos.

"Couldn't have had a little more tact with that information, could you?" Paul deadpanned. "They'll never calm down now."

'Not until they leave this hellhole.' Mewtwo agreed.

"But the door's locked." Meowth said. "The twerp said no getting through it with brute force."

'Then we won't use brute force.' The Genetic Pokemon ascended off the ground and levitated his way to the large, reinforced door and examined it for a moment. He landed right in front of it before Mewtwo dipped his head and closed his eyes. He outstretched his right arm towards the door touching it gently.

Starting from his shoulder, a powerful, bright purple energy flowed down his arm and into his hand before his hand transferred the energy into the door in front of him. The light took the form of a circle then expanded into a large oval shape large enough for multiple people to fit in at a time.

"Why are you helping us?" Paul asked.

'I told you, I had orders. Besides, I still owe Ash a few favors. This should dig me out of his debt."

"You know Ash?" Dawn asked.

'And Brock and Misty and Team Rocket. We've had our share of times together. Ash is the only reason I have faith in your race.'

"Sounds like him." Dawn agreed. "Are you a psychic-type pokemon?"

'I am the most powerful psychic-type pokemon in the universe.' Mewtwo answered.

"Don't forget modest." Paul mumbled.

"So, if you know Ash, and you can teleport, could you take us to him?" Dawn asked. "We still need to find him as well."

Mewtwo glanced at her for a moment then back at the door. 'This portal will lead you straight to Professor Sycamore's lab. There you'll find the professor and the other captives that your other friends have managed to dispatch there. I need to return to the Hall. The portal will be up for twenty minutes before it begins to collapse in on itself. Anyone not out by then will be on their own. I suggest you make two lines of mortals and begin immediately.' Mewtwo advised.

"Wait! What about Ash? You can take us to him, right?" Dawn asked. "If Aaron intends on killing us all, that means our friends, too! You gotta teleport us there now so we can warn them.

'Arceus said to steer clear of the chosen one.' Mewtwo responded. 'I am not part of his destiny. Only a speedbump that he hit a couple times on his journey there.'

"So, take us to Ash, then leave right away." Paul said. "If you're fast enough, you'll be out before she knows it."

'Arceus will know.' Mewtwo replied simply. 'She's always watching. Especially when it comes to Ash. I have done what I came here to do.' He said watching as people began entering the portal he'd created.

"So what I'm hearing is you're whipped!" Paul said.

"Paul..." Dawn warned. "Knock it off before you get hurt."

'Whipped?' Mewtwo asked. 'Is that your human slang?'

"It means you're so scared of Arceus, that you don't stand up for what you believe in. You've lost your fight! So much for the most powerful psychic pokemon." Paul scoffed. "You're a joke. I could beat you with a newly hatched Ralts."

Mewtwo's eyes closed slowly before shooting back open, this time glowing wildly. He siphoned his powers at Paul lifting the boy off the ground. 'Do not think you are permitted to talk to me with such disrespect, boy. All I need to do is raise my finger and you'll cry for your maker.' He threatened. 'I would love nothing more than to help Ash,' Mewtwo said not loosening his grip. 'but his destiny doesn't lay with me.'

"Then make it your destiny. The future is what you make it." Paul argued weakly, beginning to lose his breath from Mewtwo's grip. "If Ash isn't in your destiny now, take us to him and he will be."

Mewtwo let his grip go and Paul fell back to his feet. 'You couldn't be more wrong, boy. Destiny cannot be changed. It's up to Ash to save this region from the clutches of Aaron, not me...but I will help you. I will take you to Ash, if that is what you truly wish.'

"Really? What about Arceus?" Dawn asked. "You were so worried about her a moment ago." She pointed out. "I don't want to get you in trouble."

'It was Arceus's wish that I stay at a distance from Ash until this all blows over, but as long as I don't fight his battles for him, I'm sure she'll overlook it. If she didn't trust my judgement, she wouldn't have let me leave the Hall of Origins in the first place.' He said. 'Meowth, see to the evacuation, my friend.'

"...Okay. But only because it's you!" Meowth said saluting the taller pokemon. "Team Rocket'll get everyone out of here and play hero _one_ last time."

'Thank you, old friend.' Mewtwo watched as Dawn picked Piplup off the ground and brought him into her arms. Mewtwo nodded and extended his left arm to Dawn's face and touched a single finger to her forehead holding the position before repeating the process with Paul using his right arm. The three figures began to glow before disappearing with several directional blurs and a flashing purple light.

~The Heart~

Ash and Aaron stood at opposite sides of the room, both with a single pokeball in hand, ready to start the battle that would decide the fate of Ash's friends. Everyone present, per Ash's request, stood back at the door ready to root their friend onto victory. If he lost this, they were all done for, if he won, well they still might be in for it but at least he'd have a chance. No backup was coming, but at least he knew that his friends had made headway with the hostages.

"Come on, Ash..." Serena whispered. "You can do this."

"Show him why you're the best, Ash!" Anabel cheered.

"Kick his butt so we can leave!" Clemont added.

Ahead of him, Aaron chuckled. "Well don't you have the nicest little cheering section?" He teased. "I don't think they'll be so optimistic in a few moments, however. Thanks to this staff," He started as he twirled the staff one full rotation with one hand. "your fate's already been sealed."

"We'll see about that! I was never one to let others decide my fate for me! Bulbasaur, I need you, old friend!" He called releasing the smaller pokemon, in a flash of light, Ash's old friend from Kanto appeared before him with a determined look. "I assume you've been listening, buddy. So, you know how serious this is. We're not fighting for a championship here!"

"Saur!" The seed pokemon nodded. "Bulba-saur" He let out a low growl at Aaron.

"Oh, Ash. I offer you the battle you craved and you send out _Bulbasaur_? Are you mocking me?" Aaron asked.

Bulbasaur began growling again. "Cool it, Bulbasaur!" Ash ordered. "You gotta keep a level head. You'll get a chance to show him exactly how strong you are in a moment."

Suddenly alongside Serena, a blur of purple in white flashed before the group, before fading revealing three figures. Dawn, Paul, and Mewtwo. Mewtwo backed away intending to leave before he caused to much of a distraction. But before he could get out Ash turned to examine the source of the light.

"Dawn! Paul! ...Mewtwo?" Ash asked. "What are you doing here? I thought you were with the other clones."

Mewtwo sighed. He was already caught, so he might as well acknowledge him. 'Hello Ash. It's good to finally see you again. Your friends wanted to find you so I brought them to you. I've already done too much, I must leave. We're counting on you.' With his peace said, he teleported out of the room.

" _We_?" Ash asked. "Who's we? Mewtwo?!"

"Dawn!" Serena said wrapping her in a hug. "You found Paul!"

"Yep." Paul nodded. "Everyone else is being evacuated as well. Mewtwo got a bunch out before bringing us here. I'm sure Professor Sycamore is getting the others out, too."

"Well you're just in time to watch Ash mop the floor with this Aaron guy." Mairin told them. "They just started."

"So it seems my captives aren't very captive anymore." Aaron said. "That's annoying. But you lot should give me enough aura to buy me enough time to recapture and rebuild my empire."

"He's right guys!" Ash called. "Staying here is only giving him more power! It's best you leave!"

"But you said-" Serena started.

"I'm starting to change my mind!" Ash shot back.

"Well I'm not leaving." Paul said defiantly. "Besides if you fail, _I_ can always pick up where you left off."

"He's not going to fail, Paul!" Dawn scolded. "Be supportive!" She ordered. "We believe in you Ash!"

"If this is how you want it to go, your other friends can watch too. Oh, the double-edged sword of loyalty." Aaron smiled. He held his hand out in front of him and opened the pokeball, not letting it leave his hand. "Scizor, show them just what they're in for!" Out of the pokeball came a slender, red pokemon with two giant pincers for hands and metal plating covering its entire body. As a bug, it's almost unrecognizable. Scizor looked down at Bulbasaur and glared at the Seed Pokemon. "I think it's high time you felt the true wrath of Sir Aaron!" He laughed.

"What did he just say?!" Clemont yelled.

"Impossible." Kidd remarked. "It can't be...it has to be another trick."

"What are you, crazy?" Ash asked. "Sir Aaron is dead. He died stopping the Ancient War of Rota!" Ash glared. "You don't even look like him!"

"I know I just got here and all," Paul said. "but could someone explain what's going on? I'm already lost. Who's Sir Aaron?"

"Your parents never told you the story of Sir Aaron? It's one of the most widely read legends in the world. When the legendary Kingdom of Rota was at war, it was Sir Aaron who single-handedly stopped the fighting with the help of a mysterious place called The Tree of Beginnings." Dawn said. "But that was over a thousand years ago. There's no way he could be Sir Aaron! He'd have to be a thousand years old. No one lives that long."

"I did. Perhaps you should know, but the Sir Aaron you knew was not the first. I was. The one you saw at the Tree of Beginnings was Sir Aaron III!" He yelled. "He was named after me, but he never listened to me. He thought my ideas were too 'extreme'. He and that despicable Lucario of his. My ingrate grandson had to go and ruin everything. That war was supposed to last hundreds of years and distract the population while I exterminated the other Guardians, and take the Guardian Staff with ease, but the brat had to fill their hearts with peace and understanding before I could complete my mission. It set me back a few years." He finished with disdain.

"Don't you feel at all bad?" Anabel asked. "That was your grandson! He _died_!"

"I gave him a chance to join me. And it might have worked, if not for that blasted partner of his. That damned Lucario never liked me." Aaron said.

"Gee, I wonder why?" Ash shot back. "Could it possibly be that you were trying to destroy everything he knew and cared for?"

Aaron smiled. "Oh, Ash. So naïve. I'm tired of talking. The sooner you lose the sooner you join me. Scizor!" The Red bug turned his head back to his master. "Use Swords Dance!" Scizor nodded and flexed out his arms and legs summoning forth several swords all around him in a flash of light. The swords began spinning clockwise around Scizor and Scizor began glowing blue as his strength began increasing drastically.

"That's not good." Anabel said. "His power can just keep increasing unless Ash does something to stop him."

"Bulbasaur, we gotta stop him before he gets to powerful! Bullet Seed! Break his concentration!"

"Saur!" The smaller pokemon inclined his body and fired multiple little seeds at Scizor from his bud.

"You don't think we can't multitask, do you?" Aaron mocked. "Keep collecting power. Use Reflect! Reflect those bullets!" In front of Scizor a small shield form form nothing just in time to cut the seeds from their intended path. The seeds split off into two new paths, one deflecting left, the other right.

"Fine. We'll have to hit him up close. Hit him with a Solarbeam. Up close!" Ash ordered.

Bulbasaur nodded and sprinted towards Scizor, as the bud on his back began collecting power. Catching up to Scizor, who was still increasing his power, Bulbasaur jumped into the air and did a semi-flip pointing his powered-up bud at Scizor. Bulbasaur let loose all the energy stored inside with a single beam of power, shooting it straight past the swords.

"You can let up now! Use Superpower!" Aaron ordered.

"Zor." The Pincer Pokemon looked to his left pincer and found it glowing white-brown with power. He snapped his head quickly back to the Solarbeam coming for him. He dismissed the dancing swords around him and launched himself forward, thrusting his powered pincer in front of him causing in to collide with the Solarbeam.

Bulbasaur's Solarbeam was too weak. The pincer cut right through the middle causing it two split and create a path for him. He locked his eyes on the Seed Pokemon and, once he had closed the gap, slammed his pincer in the temporarily defenseless Bulbasaur's head.

There was a moment of sharp pain for the grass pokemon and instantly after impact, Bulbasaur flew backwards, high into the air doing multiple flip and spins. Falling from the sky he fell perfectly into Ash's open arms. Too perfectly. Ash turned Bulbasaur around to face his eyes. Bulbasaur's head hung back and a huge bruise showed just under his chin. "Bulbasaur?" Ash quizzed. "You okay?"

"You should _thank_ Scizor." Aaron said. "Knocking him into your arms so he didn't have to hit the ground so painfully."

Ash shook his head at Aaron. "We were too late. The Swords Dance made him too powerful." Ash said sadly.

"On the contrary. Scizor never needed to be powered up." Aaron told him. "He simply needed you to think he did so you would get close. Honestly, I thought you'd see right through it."

Ash pulled out Bulbasaur's pokeball. "I'm sorry, Bulbasaur. I failed you. Rest up, I'll get you some help soon." Ash said sadly, returning the little guy.

"Did he really just beat Ash's Bulbasaur?" Anabel asked.

"He didn't just _beat_ him." Kidd told her. "He annihilated the poor little guy. That was a one-shot ending." She observed. "And he says he didn't even _need_ the extra power gotten from Swords Dance. I didn't know any of Ash's pokemon were that low on health."

"They aren't." Paul said. "I was there when Sycamore first examined Ash's pokemon. He said they were some of the _toughest_ he'd ever come across. Sycamore even said Bulbasaur has exceptional stats to that of even some _Venusaur_. Whatever Ash's training method for Bulbasaur is, it works. For someone to just one-shot him like that..."

Aaron recalled Scizor and looked at Ash. "You told me you wanted to fight, but that...that was anything but. I expected Greninja or Infernape, but what do you do? You bring your C game."

"I'm getting really sick of you shit talking Bulbasaur. I don't ask him for power like you do, he did his best, and that's what matters." Ash glared.

Aaron chuckled. "Whatever helps him sleep at night, I suppose. Maybe I overestimated you, Ash. Perhaps your only good pokemon is Greninja." He taunted. Of course, he was just egging him on. Aaron knew better than most, just how powerful Ash's pokemon could be. For him, it would only get harder.

~Lower Levels~

~Collection Room~

There was currently a long, single file line of people crowding the collection room. One by one, they were disappearing at a leisurely pace. Lucy's secret pokemon, Abra, was holding open a single man-sized portal leading to Professor Sycamore's corral where Sycamore was waiting for the saved hostages and ready to help reunite the victims with their families in any way possible. Brock, Lucy, Alain, Bianca and Cilan were doing their best to calm the former captives and guide them as they got closer and closer to the portal. Brock, Lucy, and Cilan were on one side while Alain and Bianca were on the opposite side.

"Just a little bit longer." Brock said wiping sweat from his brow. "This nightmare's almost over and done with. Hopefully Ash is doing okay." He thought out loud. "Keep moving people!" He called.

"Brock!" A voice called. Brock turned to his right to see Max approaching him. "Misty and May just disconnected the last of the pods,"

"Good." Brock said cutting him off. "Once everybody's out of here, I can focus on finding Ash. I can't imagine he's having a picnic right now."

"But I find it weird that the grunts have just stopped trying. We're basically destroying the heart of their operation and no one seems to care anymore." He said. "They can't have just given up." Max said. He remembered Silver telling them that most of the grunts here only worked because their friends and family were being locked away and threatened, but if any of the attacking grunts did have family in the collection room, why weren't they helping?

"Yeah." Brock said. "I hate to admit it, but you make a good point." He said.

"Maybe we're looking at this wrong." Cilan offered. "This guy had to have known we were down here freeing the people or he never would've sent anyone after us."

"But then why aren't they seeing their loved ones and joining our fight?" Max asked.

"Because maybe he's not sending people with ties to the captives down here." Cilan put out. "Maybe those grunts are being occupied elsewhere. Cleaning, managing, those types of jobs."

"I guess that makes sense." Brock said scratching his chin. "Regardless, we can't focus on them. Our first priority is the victims."

"What about Ash?" Max asked. "We still have to find him, too."

"You're not going anywhere near him." Brock said sternly pointing at Max. "And neither are you." He said changing his attention to Cilan. "I appreciate what you've done to help here, but I'm still not risking it. You and the others can go back to Sycamore's lab once everybody else is out. If we don't hear anything by the time we're finished here, I'll handle getting Ash."

"Now wait just a minute!" Max said taking a step towards Brock. Before he could get any closer, Lucy stepped between Brock and Max and glared down at the younger boy narrowing her eyes. Max flinched and threw his hands up in mock surrender. "Okay." He said quickly. "Okay. I get it." Max let out an exasperated sigh.

"Hey!" The group turned their attention to Abel, May, Misty, and Bonnie joining the group on Brock's side. "You're not picking on Max, are you?" May yelled putting her hand on her hip.

"Picking on him?" Lucy asked. "Don't be ridiculous. Brock was just telling him how it is."

"And how exactly _is it_?" May glared. "Maybe you should tell me."

"Really, May, it's fine." Max said. "We're all good, we were just talking about Ash, that's all. It's still a touchy subject you know. I just wanted to help in the search for Ash and-"

"Oh, you're helping find Ash." May interrupted. "So am I. Even if we have to do it on our own." She asserted. Glaring straight at Brock.

"This isn't good." Misty sighed. "This isn't good."

"Let them get it all out." Iris said shrugging it off. "It's the only way to move past our differences."

"Do we have to remind you what you did to Ash the last time you 'went looking for him'?" Bonnie snarked. "We don't need your help, do we Brock?!"

"Look this is getting out of hand, here." Brock said. "My point was-"

"That we shouldn't be allowed to see Ash. What we did wasn't our fault Brock! Were you listening at all?!" May retorted. "We're his friends! I don't want to see him hurt, either!"

"Of course, not. You want to _be the one_ to hurt him." Lucy said. "Tell me I'm wrong." Beside her Brock buried his head in his hands and let out a deep sigh.

"This is getting us nowhere, guys." Misty pointed out. "Can we put a pin in this conversation?"

"Why don't you try listening to her side of the story instead of being so biased towards Ash's story." Abel cut in, ignoring Misty. "Maybe it really wasn't their fault!"

"Whose fault was it then, huh?" Bonnie asked tapping her foot impatiently. "I'm listening..."

"I don't have the answer to that, but I've spent enough time with Max to know he's not a bad person." Abel shot back. "So, his sister can't be that bad, right?"

By now Alain had caught wind of the argument and was shaking his head. Molly, Tory, and Miette began gathering around as well. Soon everyone but Bianca and Alain, who were dead set on helping the captives instead of wasting time, were gathered around by Brock too.

Brock clenched his fist together. He had had enough. He put a hand on Lucy's shoulder and gently pulled her to the side and took her place. He glanced around the verbal brawl in front of him. "Shut up!" He called. Everyone was quiet, not because Brock ordered them to, but because of the terminology Brock used. 'Shut up' is something no one thought Brock would ever say. He's much too nice and logical for that. "Listen to me, and listen close, because you're all wrong!"

"What?" May asked.

"Lucy, I appreciate you, but let me handle this on my own." Lucy nodded and backed out to return to helping Alain and Bianca. " _Bonnie_. Try and be a little more understanding. Adding fuel to the fire doesn't help Ash at all. Listen and give people second chances and you may find they're not as terrible as you thought." Bonnie looked to her feet. " _May_. Stop making the argument about yourself and your innocence, this is about Ash and Ash alone. Even if helping Ash was the intention of this argument, you're doing the opposite." May nodded slowly. " _Abel_. You seem like a good kid, but you're a little out of the loop and out of your element here." Abel shrugged. " _Max_. My point wasn't that you stay away from Ash forever. My point was that, if what Bonnie said is true, and it most likely is, then Ash is in huge trouble right now. Possibly in the middle of a battle as we speak. And to win that battle we need him to keep a level head. Yes?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess." Max said scratching the back of his head.

"Good. Then you can wait until after he's saved the world to give him your sob stories. If he's gonna win, he needs no distractions, and you and your sister might be the biggest distraction you could give him. Once this is all over, if Ash decides to give you another chance, I will too. If not, I'll stand by him." Brock finished. "Now are we finished fighting?"

"Yes." They all said in unison.

"Good. Anyone who has a problem with that," Brock said. "can walk right through that portal and be on their merry way." He finished pointing to the portal. "Bonnie, May, shake hands and make up." Brock ordered. As he watched the two young girls exchange hands, albeit still slightly bitterly, he smiled to himself. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pokeball he had put away just a little bit earlier. "Crobat!" Out of the pokeball came one of Brock's longest running traveling companions, a familiar purple bat.

"Crobat."

"Crobat, pal, I need you to go find Ash. He's somewhere in this factory, on the first floor, that's we're sure of. Use those patented sonars of yours. When you've found him, come back here." Brock ordered.

"Cro." The purple poison bat replied. It took off in the direction of the door leading to the factory corridor they had all entered from flapping its purple wings furiously.


	20. Misty's Dilemma

~Hall of Origins~

Per usual, Arceus stood in front of her looking vat, watching the events unfold from a distance. Some might think she'd get tired of being cooped up in the Hall of Origins all the time, unable to interfere but she actually much preferred it to the alternatives. Not many understood or really agreed with her rule of no interference, but she knew it was for the best. If the humans created a problem, then it was the humans who must set it right, at least in her eyes.

Also per usual, the lineup of legendary pokemon accompanying her had changed. Mespirit, Azelf, and Uxie had to return to their respective lakes for a bit, seeing as they are the guardians of the pokemon living there. Darkrai also had left to go see Alice. Cresselia floated adjacent from Arceus, to her left hovered Shaymin, to her right was Deoxys, and recently joining them was Articuno. Suddenly, in a flash of light Arceus and Articuno found Mewtwo standing between them.

There was a long silent pause as Mewtwo looked around the room expectantly. 'Don't all welcome me back at once.' He quipped. 'I know some of you don't care for me all that much but you could at least _act_ like you're happy to see me.'

'Mewtwo, you know that's-' Articuno started turning to Mewtwo.

'I can read minds, remember?' Mewtwo said cutting her off. 'I know just what you all think of me.'

'Gee, I wonder why?' Shaymin retorted. 'Maybe it's because you never listen?' She glared. She snapped her head to the side with a 'hmph'. 'I don't know why Arceus keeps you around. She clearly told you to help Dawn and Paul only. But you just had to go talk to Ash. But I guess I should've expected it.'

'Do you want to be one with the wall again, princess?' Mewtwo growled as his eyes began to glow a whitish purple. 'I won't hesitate.' He threatened.

'That's enough, both of you.' Arceus said calmly. 'Perhaps we should just give Mewtwo a chance to explain his actions rather than immediately condemning him.'

Mewtwo's eyes calmed and the Genetic pokemon crossed his arms defiantly. 'It's not a big deal. Those two humans wanted to find Ash, so I brought them to him. He noticed me, and I have too much respect for the boy to ignore him. So, I said as little as possible. You don't want us fighting his battles for him, and I didn't. I should've healed Pikachu myself, but I didn't because Arceus wants it to be this way for some stupid reason.'

'You're missing the point.' Cresselia pointed out. 'Arceus said not to interact with the Chosen One. She put her trust in you to carry out a simple but important task, and you betrayed that trust. You defied a direct order.'

'In case you've forgotten, I'm not like you, Cresselia.' Mewtwo snapped. 'I wasn't created by Arceus, I'm not an official legendary pokemon, I'm not a part of your little 'Praise Arceus Club' where we all dance around and sing kumbaya and talk about how great our creator is. Because of all that, I don't feel I'm obliged to do exactly what Arceus says one hundred percent of the time. I _could've_ stayed and fought with him, you know? But I didn't because Arceus wished me not to.'

'He brings up an interesting point.' Deoxys interjected. 'What makes Mewtwo unique is the fact that he's not tied to Arceus as the rest of us are. And it's no secret that there are legends who treat him like the outcast of the group. Besides, many of us have gone against Arceus's wishes in the past. I got a lecture of my own after my fight with Rayquaza as did my brother. Perhaps we should look the other way.'

'Are you nuts?' Shaymin asked the extra-terrestrial. 'He should have to follow the rules more than anyone.'

'Enough.' Arceus commanded. All heads turned towards the creator as she looked at Mewtwo. 'There's something quite special about you, Mewtwo. No one has talked about me in such a way in many centuries, and certainly never had the gall to challenge me the way you have been lately...it's a nice change. Your ability to stick to your guns as they say, is very respectable and a rare trait to find.' Mewtwo gave her a smirk. 'To be honest, I knew you would contact Ash in some way. I let you go because I knew it was for the best that you get to see him at least once. After all, we don't know how this will end.'

'You're not angry?' Deoxys asked.

'Anger is an emotion I have done my best to purge myself of over the years, it gets us nowhere.' Arceus replied. 'I do, however, have a slight problem with you leaving such an important task in the hands of that Meowth. His greed could prove to be quite a problem. I hope you know what you've done there.'

'Despite appearances, Meowth isn't a terrible pokemon.' Mewtwo replied calmly. 'He is greedy, yes, but he and his friends have shown multiple counts of empathy before. Besides, he and his friends are more of the jester villain types rather than the evil ones.'

'I should hope so.' Articuno said. 'If you're wrong, someone may be losing their pokemon. The panic of the civilians would give them the perfect smokescreen.'

'Even if they try anything, it's not like they're competent enough to pull it off.' Deoxys added. 'I'd be much more worried about those still trapped inside the factory. Between my brother and I, it's taken all our restraint not to rescue Tory ourselves.'

'Young Tory is no longer in as much danger as he once was.' Articuno pointed out. 'As long as they continue to go at this pace, they'll have plenty of time to spare to get out of the factory.'

'But will he want to leave Ash behind?' Deoxys countered. 'He admires that boy more than any other mortal he's come across. Many of them do.'

'Yes. The orange-haired one has admitted her true feelings on several occasions.' Cresselia added. 'The way he touches others hearts throughout his adventures is unmatched. To insinuate that any of them would leave the Chosen behind is unfounded in logic. No one is out of danger, yet.'

'I suppose you make good points.' Arceus said. 'But to lose them all in the case of my Chosen's defeat...'

'Then Ash won't lose.' Mewtwo said confidently. 'You chose him because he's the best of the best, so he should be able to beat a frail old man.'

'Old he may be," Cresselia argued. 'but frail? Far from it.'

~Pokeball Factory~

~Infirmary~

Inside the small infirmary, three familiar scientists were hastily gathering a bunch of small test tubes and loading them into a small carrying case. Khan had just returned from delivering the Guardian Staff to Aaron and returned to the medical bay to aid his fellow genius scientists Orvis and Harvard load up their very important research. All loyal employees had been called to the south lab for their protection from what this final battle would bring. Off to their right, on a small bed, lay the esteemed Professor Oak, still unmoving after his clash with Ash.

"Remind me again why we're doing this again." Orvis said placing two test tubes into the little place holders inside the case. "Shouldn't we have left for the lab already?"

Annoyed, Khan smacked the pudgy scientist upside the head. "There's no telling what in Arceus's name that staff'll do if it's activated." Khan snapped. "It could cause major damage to the entire factory! I don't want my precious research to be left behind and destroyed if worse comes to worst."

"But if we aren't in that room in time-" Orvis started.

"Shut up and stop panicking and we'll get there a lot faster, Orvis." Harvard retorted calmly. "What do we do about Oak? It'll slow us down considerably to have to carry him."

"Leave him." Khan replied. "A dead man is no use to us anyway."

"What about the revival serum we gave him? Won't he wake up?" Orvis asked. "If he wakes, he could be of major use to us. He is a world-renowned researcher as well, you know."

"What are you, mental?" Khan snapped again. "I don't know what the boss was thinking letting us give him that serum without finalizing it. There were so many unchecked chemicals in that concoction that it probably did more harm than good. He's a goner and not worth our time."

"So we gave the man a death sentence?" Harvard asked in an indifferent tone.

"Who knows? We could have saved his life, or maybe we made his kidneys implode. All I know is if he doesn't regain consciousness in the next sixty seconds, I couldn't care less."

"That's pretty brutal, Khan." Orvis pointed out.

"Compassion is for the weak-willed. To make it in this world, you have to be able to let go of those who are of no use." Khan slammed the lid to the carrying case shut and locked it with a small key. He slung the case behind his shoulder with and underhand grip and looked to his two colleagues. "Let's go. Leave the old man behind."

"What about his pokemon?" Harvard asked. "They could still be of use to us."

"They most likely wouldn't fancy leaving him behind. They'd just slow us down. Sorry, but that's survival of the fittest for you."

On the hospital bed, Oak began to stir slightly. Slowly his eyes opened and he began regaining his sight and hearing. He tried to tilt his head but felt something pull it back into place. He lifted his hand to his forehead and felt three wires attached to his skin. He clumped the wires in his hand and tore the probes off of his skin. He looked to see Khan open the door to the infirmary. He braced himself with his arms and hoisted himself up. Gradually his memories of his fatal fight with Ash and Greninja came flooding back. He turned to the fleeing scientists. "You aren't going anywhere without me, are you?" He asked weakly, but with a tone of cockiness. "That'd be very rude."

Orvis leaned towards Khan. "I thought you said the serum wouldn't work." He said.

"It shouldn't have. He's been pumped full with more chemicals than a gassing chamber. Most of them experimental, too." Khan snapped back quietly. "Professor Oak!" He said smiling back at the elderly man who was now getting up off his back and onto his feet. "How great it is to see you up and running once more! We were just going to quickly go check to see if any intruders were waiting for us outside. Leave you behind? We would never!"

"Good." He said stumbling slightly. He knew full well that they were going to leave him, but decided not to point it out. "Why such a rush?"

"The Boss is fighting with the Chosen as we speak." Orvis let out. "If we don't get to the safe room, we'll be in big trouble." Khan let a subtle glare at Orvis slip as the pudgy man let their secret out.

"Well then, let's get going." Oak said calmly. "I don't want to be knocked out again."

"Yeah about that..." Orvis said trailing off.

Khan elbowed him one last time before taking the initiative for the naïve scientist. "You can come with if you'd like, but you can't bring the Chosen's pokemon. We know you have some of them on you. Only the most loyal of subjects will be allowed entrance." Khan said sternly. "Boss's orders."

"Well Noctowl's loyal to me now, but I suppose the other..." He said reaching into his pocket and pulling out a pokeball. He opened it in his hand and in a flash of light, an elephant like ground pokemon stood before him. Upon release the pokemon reared up on its back feet and roared, showing off her tusks. "Phaan!"

"Sorry Donphan." Oak shrugged. "But this is where we part ways. Your ties to Ash are too strong for my colleague's tastes. I wish you nothing but the best." He said monotonal, turning toward the door.

"Donphan! Don! Donnphann."

"I did?" Oak replied scratching his chin. "I don't recall that conversation." Orvis and Harvard looked to each other in amazement, wondering how Oak could understand the armored pokemon. "Well," Oak continued. "promise or no promise, I have no intentions of seeing Ash again. I played my part and now, it's time to move on and live out the rest of my life. Word from the wise though. If I were you, I'd leave while I still had the breath in my lungs."

"How can you understand it?" Orvis asked.

"And you call yourselves men of science? Study pokemon long enough and you too, would pick up on their languages." Oak replied simply. "I had many Donphan back at my old lab so I took to learning some of their language."

"This is all very interesting, but we need to go." Harvard cut in. "If we're not there for the final roll call, we'll be locked out."

"Don. Phan. Donn." Donphan replied sadly.

"Redemption?" Oak asked. He gave a short chuckle. "Good luck with that. Ash isn't the same as he once was. If you really want to see him that bad, only for him to reject you, I'll have you know he's somewhere in this factory. Don't know where, though. Like I said, you helped me, albeit reluctantly, so I don't want to see you hurt. You should leave. Even if Ash _does_ forgive you, those friends of his will never let you get close enough to make amends." He threw Donphan's pokeball on the ground and stomped on it violently causing it to break into several pieces and discharges surrounded the broken symbol of friendship. "Nothing personal. No hard feelings, right? Good." He turned back to Khan. "We can go now. She was the only one."

Khan nodded and as the three scientists left the room, leaving Donphan alone, she gathered up the pieces of the broken pokeball and gripped them with her trunk. With Oak and the strangers gone, she wandered out into the corridor in front of her slowly. She turned to see a Crobat zipping down towards her at a fast speed. Her eyes widened as she immediately recognized it as Brock's Crobat. It zoomed past her seeming not to even take notice that she was there.

Donphan quickly assumed Crobat was heading in the direction of Brock. And where Brock was, Ash might follow. She clutched the broken ball tightly and contorted her body into a wheel. She rolled in place for a moment before taking off after the purple bat.

~The Heart~

Aaron looked to Ash and chuckled slightly. "I don't need to remind you of what's at stake here do I, Ash?" Aaron asked. "If you don't step up your game, those distractions you call friends just might not make it through the day." He mocked. "Are you trying to tell me something? Maybe you want to lose and join me."

"Never!" Ash shot back. "And I won't let you hurt my friends. They're all I have in this world and if you think I gonna let you-"

"You couldn't seem to help Bulbasaur all that much." Aaron said cutting him off. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the ball holding his second pokemon. "The only true way to protect them is to submit! Submit to me and I will spare your friends."

"If you do kill us, then what hold would you have over Ash?" Clemont asked. "He'd have nothing holding him back anymore."

"If only you knew." Aaron replied simply.

"You're right, Aaron. Bulbasaur put his faith in me, and in return I got careless and let him down." Ash said. "But I won't let it happen again." He said. He looked down to his chest at the necklace Lucario had given him hanging around his neck. "You're losing this time. No more mistakes. Sceptile!" He called. "I need you!" He yelled throwing the gecko's pokeball in the air. In a matter of seconds Ash's old friend stood in front of Aaron arms crossed and eyes closed. His head was pointed towards the floor but he slowly brought it up and opened his eyes to glare at Aaron.

"Is that Grovyle?" Kidd asked. "Man, did he grow up since I saw him. So prideful."

"And he has every right to be." Anabel added. "Sceptile is Ash's strongest grass-type pokemon. They've been through a lot together. Ash has got this one."

"I'd like to believe that, too." Clemont said. "But you saw the way he utterly dominated Bulbasaur." He said scratching his chin. "And we don't even know if Scizor was Aaron's strongest. I think we'd better watch before celebrating." From his side Serena punch him in the arm. He let out a quick yelp and looked to Serena. "What?!"

"Ash will win. He's better than Aaron." Serena said. "He's the best trainer there is."

"Well," Aaron interrupted. "He certainly _looks_ more promising than your last pokemon." Aaron said in half compliment. "Let's hope he doesn't let me down like Bulbasaur did."

"I told you to stop that! Bulbasaur did his best!" Ash yelled.

"And look where it got him." Aaron smirked. "Scolipede! To my side." Out of the pokeball came a large purple bug-type. Its body was long and he had more legs than most pokemon, though most were vestigial. Ash could see the coldness of his heart flaring through his eyes. "Scolipede, this is Sceptile." Aaron said. "Impressed?"

"Pede." The bug answered.

"Yeah, me neither." Aaron agreed. "When are you going to bring out Greninja?"

"Pika..." Pikachu growled from Ash's shoulder. He, even more than Ash, didn't like them picking on his buddies. Ash scatched Pikachu's ear gently to calm him down.

"Greninja will be there when I need him most." Ash answered. "I don't know what it is with you and insulting my pokemon, but Sceptile doesn't take that kind of crap, do you?" In return Sceptile just glared at Scolipede. "Mega evolve, Sceptile!" Ash called. He clutched the charm hanging around his neck as it shot a beam of light into Sceptile's back.

A white light covered Sceptile from head to toe as he began his final metamorphosis. He grew slightly in size and the seed bombs on his back got significantly bigger. His tail grew in size as well and a large spike formed at the end. The final major change was that new blades began forming on his shoulders. The light blasted off of him in an explosion revealing his newly formed self. "Tile." He growled.

"Better, but not good enough." Aaron said shaking his head. "I, personally, prefer not to use mega evolution as a crutch."

"Sceptile, shut him up with a Leaf Blade!" Ash ordered. The supped-up Sceptile launched forward, using his evolution's improved speed stats to his advantage and rocketed towards Scolipede. He flexed his left arm outward and the blade ingrown into it began to grow in size. Sceptile narrowed his eyes as he drew closer.

Ahead of him Scolipede stood in a confidence, unmoving. "Wait for it..." Aaron ordered. "Wait for it..." He repeated. Finally, with one final push, Sceptile collided the blade on his arm into Scolipede's forehead, pushing down with all the force he could. From far back it might not have looked like the attack did much, but up close Sceptile could see the giant bug flinch in pain quite violently.

"Toxic." Aaron said looking at Sceptile. "Now." Scolipede reared his head up knocking Sceptile's attack off and Sceptile back a few inches. He looked back up at Mega Sceptile and glared. From his mouth, Scolipede fired a shot of purple liquids straight into Sceptile's eyes. In response, Sceptile staggered backwards and cupped his face in pain. "Now, send him back to Ash! Megahorn!" Aaron ordered.

Before Aaron's Scolipede had a chance to land to blow, Sceptile pounced backwards, flying across the field and landing in front of his trainer, his back-facing Ash. "Scep-Ile." He groaned.

"I know it hurts, Sceptile." Ash responded. "But you gotta fight it. You've taken down tougher than this! Just power through the pain!"

"Tile! Sceptile!" The gecko snapped back.

"What do you mean you can't see?!" Ash asked. "Did it hit your eyes?!"

"Scept."

Ash stood and pondered for a moment. Aaron took that moment of weakness as a chance. "Megahorn!" He ordered. Scolipede's head glowed with light that proceeded to form a horn on his forehead. He charged forward heading straight for the blind gecko.

"New strategy!" Ash called. "Fire off Leaf Tornadoes! Lots of them, in all directions! Buy some time!" Sceptile nodded. He faced forward and reared his arm back before thrusting it forward and creating a large gust of wind. It shot forward towards Scolipede, who dodged to the left and continued on his course. Sceptile turned slightly and repeated the motion creating another tornado. Once again Scolipede sidestepped avoiding the attack. It pounced into the air and positioned his body to come down head-first.

"Up this time!" Ash ordered. Sceptile snapped his head upwards to Scolipede descending towards him, though he couldn't see him. He pushed forward with both arms, this time, and just before Scolipede could land the blow a single Leaf Tornado pushed him back into the air and away from Sceptile.

Scolipede fell back to the ground, landing on his side, and skid back over to Aaron. "Get up, Scolipede!" Aaron ordered. "Don't let that fickle grass-dweller beat you!"

As Sceptile panted heavily, tired from firing off that many high-energy moves, Ash turned back to his friends. "You guys wouldn't happen to have any antidotes?" He asked hopefully.

Clemont shrugged at the boy. "Used 'em all just getting in the building." He reported. "We weren't just allowed in, you know?"

"Sorry, kid." Kidd added. "Probably should've stocked up a bit more before coming. Sceptile's going to have to just deal." She said sadly.

"Great." Ash deadpanned. "We'll do this the hard way then. Sceptile!" Ash called causing Sceptile to turn towards him. "You've lost your sight, but you know what they say about losing one sense?"

"Tile?"

"Your other senses strengthen." Ash said simply. "Try using your hearing. Feel the ground for quakes. Changes in the smell of the air. Anything."

"I'm getting quite bored of your Sceptile." Aaron said as Scolipede got back to his feet. Ash could see a huge change in the bug's eyes. He was pissed. "Scolipede, use Venoshock!" Sceptile closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He scanned the floor with his feet for any unusual pulsations. Suddenly under his feet he could feel a rumble. He hopped to the left just as a geyser of purple liquids erupted from where he was previously standing.

"He's lucky that Venoshock never hit." Paul observed. "With Sceptile already being poisoned, that's almost an immediate faint sentence."

"Is it really that bad?" Serena asked.

"The damage is almost doubled." Anabel joined in. "And that poison's not doing them any favors either. Lucky Sceptile is so strong, or he might need a doctor right now."

"There you go, Sceptile!" Ash cheered with Pikachu joining in. "You don't need to see! Now hit him! Follow that signal back to him!" Sceptile nodded opening his eyes to reveal they still had a dark-purple tint to them. He turned around and pointed his palm tree-like tail towards the source. The tip quickly dispatched from the rest of Sceptile and shot off towards Scolipede.

"Thunderbolt that missile." Aaron ordered. From the sky a bolt of lightning came down and struck the piece of Sceptile's tail mid-way through the field. As a result, and explosion erupted pushing both Sceptile and Scolipede backwards towards their respective trainers. Seconds later from under Sceptile a second geyser of scalding poison splashed all over Sceptile, who dropped to his knees, covering his arms across his stomach, and wincing in pain. After a few moments he fell to his side.

"What in Arceus's name?" Ash questioned. "Sceptile! Are you okay?!"

"Pika!" Pikachu added. "Pikachu!"

No answer. The smoke from the other side of the field began to clear, and the first thing it revealed was Scolipede's angry eyes. "I didn't even hear you call out the attack!" Ash said as Scolipede's entire body came into view.

"I didn't." Aaron. "Scolipede becomes a bit of a loose cannon when he gets angry." Aaron told him. "I can only imagine it's because of that Leaf Tornado you hit him with. No pokemon that wasn't mine has ever landed a hit on him unless he allowed them to." Ash looked to Scolipede to see just what Aaron was talking about. It looked like Scolipede was getting angrier.

Back at the entrance to the heart, a stray purple bat zipped onto the scene. "Cro!" It cried flapping its wings furiously. "Crobat!"

"Hey!" Dawn said pointing to the flying pokemon. "That's Brock's Crobat!"

"Brock!" Ash said turning around almost whipping Pikachu off his shoulder. "Brock?" He asked. "Where is he?" Crobat turned around quickly and bolted out of the room as fast as he could flap, leaving everyone to wonder...what was he doing out?

"PEDE!" Scolipede boomed. He reared up onto his two back legs and began to thrash his head around. Ash forgot Brock for a moment and turned back to the battle to find...it wasn't a battle. Sceptile wasn't getting back up.

"I think Sceptile's unable to battle." Clemont observed. Unbeknownst to them, right behind them Ash's old pokemon stepped into the room, joining the party and she immediately spotted Sceptile on the ground.

Scolipede let out another fierce cry. "I don't think it cares." Mairin said widening her eyes and pointing at Scolipede.

"Pika!"

The poisonous brute roared calling upon his power once again. Above the field clouds formed once more and a single streak of electricity shot down thundering towards Sceptile. Everything that happened next happened too fast for Ash to initially register. He had taken a step forward to run to Sceptile's side but then...he knew he saw a giant ball roll past and he felt a gust of wind but before he could even say a word it all became clear.

Standing over Sceptile, was what Ash thought looked like, his old friend, Donphan. The Armor Pokemon was covered head to toe in electricity but it didn't seem to bother her at all. "Hey, that looks like-" Dawn was cut off before she could finish her thought.

"What do we have here?" Aaron quizzed. "Absorbing the blow meant for Sceptile? Ballsy move. I've never seen _you_ before." Aaron tilted his head. "Ah." Aaron said snapping his fingers. "You're Ash's old pokemon. Oak said he brought a couple with. Which means, more than likely, somebody's back in the land of the living." He smirked. "As for you!" He said returning his attention to his Scolipede. "Knowing when to stop is exactly what separates us from savages." He returned his wayward pokemon to his pokeball. "You obviously haven't learned that yet." Aaron spat pocketing the ball.

"Donphan, what are you doing here?!" Ash scolded. "This is important! You need to leave now!" Ash yelled pointing to the entrance.

"Pika...Chu! Pika!" Pikachu yelled pointing at Donphan. "Pikaa."

Donphan turned around to face her old trainer and shook her head. She whipped her head and released what she had been holding in her trunk. Pieces of Ash's old pokeball came flying at him before landing at his feet. Ash knelt down on one knee and picked up the largest piece of the broken pokeball and examined it. "Hmm. Looks like-"

"So," Aaron interrupted. "I take it this is your next fighter?" He said gesturing his finger towards Donphan. "She's certainly got guts to stand up to me, but I just hope she's not as much of a disappointment and your last two."

"What? No!" Ash said tearing his attention away from the shard. "Like I would ever battle with her again! She's not battling! Hawlucha is next!"

"A Hawlucha? Really? You think _that's_ worth my time? No, I want to fight this one!" He said pointing at Donphan. "She looks much more promising." Donphan turned around and looked at Ash with pleading eyes.

"I. Said. No!" Ash yelled. "I am not putting the fate of Kalos in the hands of a traitor!"

"Hey, Anabel," Dawn said. "Do your telepathy thing. You'll be able to tell what she's thinking, right? Ash always used to brag about how strong Donphan was and she stepped in to save Sceptile, so-"

"First of all, I don't have telepathy. I'm an empath. I can't tell what she's thinking, I can only feel the emotions she feels. Secondly-" Anabel snapped back.

"Just do it princess!" Paul urged. "Ash is getting his ass handed to him! He needs his best!"

"Fine. And don't call me princess!" Anabel sighed and outstretched her hand towards Donphan and closed her eyes. She stood in that exact pose, unmoving for a moment as all the feelings the Armor Pokemon was going through washed over her. Her eyes shot open quickly and she shook her head, blinking a few times in order to regain full consciousness. "Ash! Use Donphan!" Anabel called.

"Pika?"

"What?! No! Absolutely not! No way in-" Ash ranted.

"Ash..." Anabel warned. "You told me back at the Battle Tower Donphan was one of your strongest. You need that strength, now!"

"But-"

"Please." Anabel pleaded gently, tilting her head.

Ash looked away quickly. 'Why did she have to give me that face?' He thought to himself. He sighed taking one last look at the broken pokeball. He was sure it was the same as the one he used for Donphan, meaning, unlike Pignite and Boldore, that over all this time, she never had another trainer. And what's more she carried around his pokeball with her even after it broke. He looked back at Donphan who was waiting patiently for his decision. "You're in a world of hurt if this is some kind of game." He warned. "Don't make me regret this decision."

Donphan's eyes lit up and she nodded eagerly turning back to the elder man. "Don! Phan!" She bellowed, pawing at the ground with her front left foot.

"Round 3!" Aaron declared. "Not looking too good for you, but don't worry, you'll be able to support yourself quite well with the salaries I provide." Ash let out a frustrated growl. "I hope you don't mind type disadvantages. Jellicent, to my side!" From the container in his hand came a pokemon whose head alone was bigger than Aaron. A giant, purple, bulbous pokemon floated directly in front of him awaiting his orders in eagerness. She smiled somewhat sweetly at the opposing Donphan.

"Oh!" Mairin explaimed. "She doesn't look so bad. She's adorable. Ash _has_ to win this one." She urged naively.

"Except for one little detail you're missing, kid." Kidd responded. "Jellicent are notoriously sadistic. Their major claim to fame is sinking entire ships and stealing the life force of those aboard." She said shaking her head. "You'd have a better chance of living if you encountered an angry Groudon."

"Steals life energy, huh?" Anabel asked. "No wonder Aaron likes this one."

"That's horrible!" Serena gasped. "Is it even safe to let that thing out?!"

"Probably not." Clemont answered honestly. "Jellicent don't normally have all that much restraint, either. If Ash isn't careful with this one..."

"How true." Aaron remarked petting his Jellicent's giant bloated head. "Such majesty and a cute face to cover up all those nasty truths. Luckily my Jellicent won't steal your life energy unless I tell her to. She much prefers the thrill of battle. So, shall we get started?"

~Collection Room~

Brock stood at the entrance to the prison room in wait for his trusted partner to come back with word of where Ash was. The entire operation had been a success. By now most of the captives were out of the factory and hopefully, with the help of Sycamore, on their way home to their respective families. He couldn't imagine they were more than thirty captives left. Bianca and Alain had done a good job getting everyone out in a timely matter. Now all that was left was to find Ash.

"Brock!" A feminine voice called. He turned back around to see Misty and Ritchie approaching him. "The last of the hostages are getting out." Misty reported. "Some of the others are contemplating leaving too. Bianca feels helpless without her Umbreon and Espeon. Tory doesn't feel confident in his battling skills enough to go any further. Molly and Trip want to get their pokemon to Joys immediately, too."

"Let em, go." Brock told her. "There's no reason for them to stick around any longer. They'd just be putting themselves in danger for no reason. They can help Sycamore with the rest of the escapees."

"Crobat come back yet?" Misty asked.

"No. He will, though. "I'm sure he's found Ash by now. Once he comes back, I'm leaving. I have to find Ash."

"Well, so do we." Misty said. "We want to see him safe and sound just as much as you do." She argued. "Why can't you let us go with?"

"We've been over this. You'd be too much of a distraction." Brock told her.

"That's Grandbull and you know it!" Misty snapped pointing at him. "You can fool the others with that story but not me. You know as well as I do nothing can distract Ash if he's really battling. You don't believe our story. You think we're lying."

"I don't know what to think." Brock told her sadly shaking his head. "But I do know this. Ash is my best friend. And he comes first."

"Splitting up's a bad idea." Ritchie input. "We split up the last time and half of us got captured."

"There's no one left to capture us." Brock replied calmly. "Anyone with ties to the captives have no reason to follow orders." He looked back to the entrance. "And it looks like everyone else has given up."

"But if you go running all alone-" Misty tried.

"I'm going with him." Bonnie said joining them. "And I'm not taking no for an answer." She said firmly crossing her arms. "This guy knows where my big brother is, so me and him are going to have a little chat. Right Squishy?" From her purse a small green cell creature popped its head out and let out a squeal. "That means 'right'." She informed them.

"Fine." Brock said. "But no running off, stay by my side at all times." He ordered.

"So, Bonnie gets to go, but we're still grounded?" Misty asked. "Come on, Brock. Let us go, too." She pleaded. "I just want to be there for him."

"No. I just...can't do that to Ash." Brock said sadly.

"Something-" Before she could finish her sentence a loud screeching noise cut her off and the long-awaited return of Crobat had finally come. He bolted into the room and circled around Brock's head.

"Hey, buddy. Did you find him?" Brock asked. Crobat nodded and gestured towards the door. "Good job, Crobat. Bonnie, come with me. I'm going to let Lucy know we're leaving to rendezvous with Ash and then we're out of here." He took off back towards the rest of the rescue team with Crobat close behind. Bonnie nodded and went after him leaving Ritchie and Misty behind.

"I'm not entirely clear what's happening between you three," Ritchie said. "I mean, why doesn't he want you to go and help Ash?"

"It's a long story Ritchie, and not one I'm proud to tell. All you need to know is I hurt Ash...bad." Misty told him.

"Huh. Well it seems to me like you're not getting his blessing anytime soon." Ritchie observed turning to her. "But I don't understand why you need it." He chuckled. "If you hurt Ash, and you want to make it right, then it's up to you to do it. If you let Brock stop you, then I figure you don't want to make amends as much as you say you do." He began to walk away.

"What are you saying?" Misty asked.

"Brock's not your master. If you want to go help Ash, then do it." He said simply. "I can't join you, Sparky needs a nurse pronto, but the choice is yours, Misty." He said walking away. "But hey, what do I know, I'm not his _soul_ _mate_." He came to a stop and turned around to wink at her. "See ya later, Misty."

Several minutes later Misty watched as Brock, Bonnie, and Crobat bolted past her, past all the pods, and out of the room in attempts to find Ash. She pondered Ritchie's words for a moment before looking to see if anyone else was coming or if anyone was watching her. Once she was sure no one was watching she followed the footsteps of Brock out the door. 'Sorry, but I'm not leaving this to you, Brock.' She thought to herself. 'I can't let Ash think of me as a bitch any longer.' She heard faint sounds of footsteps down the left hallway and followed the sound hoping it would lead her to Brock, then Ash.


	21. Iris's Solution

~Pokeball Factory~

~Collection Room~

Deep inside the pokeball factory, the rescue mission started by Clemont and Anabel was reaching it end. Everyone was released by now, and everyone's pokemon, save for Tory's Plusle and Minun who were perched on his shoulders still, and of course Lucy's Abra, had been returned Max, May, and Abel stood and watched as two gentlemen, albeit naïve gentlemen, helped Delia off the ground and supported her as the three proceeded towards the portal being held up by a very obviously strained Abra. Behind them what looked like a mother and her young daughter followed closely. As the five made it through the small portal, Max took a look around to find the only people left were companions of Ash. "That looks like the last of the civilians." Max reported. "I feel like going home and sleeping for a year. Let's blow this place."

May nodded. "C'mon Misty..." She turned around to an empty room. "Misty? Misty!" May called frantically. "Where'd she go?"

"Maybe she already left. She could've easily slipped into the crowd without us noticing." Abel suggested. "I'm sure she's just waiting for us on the other side."

"No." A new voice added from in front of them. Ritchie turned to face the three. "She didn't feel Brock was being fair, so she followed him and the little blonde girl when they left to find Ash."

"And didn't tell us?!" May yelled. "Come on! We should be allowed to go just like her!"

"Then go." Ritchie shrugged. He turned back to the portal and took a few steps towards the glowing door. "Nothing's stopping you, now, right?" Ahead Molly and Trip stepped through and disappeared to the lab on the other side of the gateway. "I assume you hurt Ash just like Misty did. That's why Brock didn't want you to go with?" May nodded somberly. "Then prove you're sorry."

Her face lit up with hope. "About time! That's what I've been saying this whole time!" May agreed. "At least someone here has some sense of humanity!"

"I'd be no help, though. Besides, Sparky's more important right now." Just after Miette had slipped through the portal, Ritchie took his place in front of the gateway as it illuminated the outline of his body. He lifted one arm into the air and conformed his hand into a thumbs up position. He let it drop back down to his side and left the room in prideful strides.

"I like that guy." Abel said. "He's like if Ash would lighten up every once in a while." He chuckled. Beside him, May pivoted around towards the door. "Hey, where you going?" Abel asked tilting his head.

"Weren't you listening at all? You heard Ritchie! I'm going to find Ash!" May asserted. "Whether Brock and Bonnie like it, or not. And that's that!"

"Mind if we tag along?" Iris and Cilan walked up to the trio and smiled. "We're not too happy with our current standing with Ash, either. Not to mention whoever it is running this machine stole a whole year of our lives."

"Indeed." Cilan nodded. "Overall our current situation has the sour aftertaste of the Beribi fruit native to Hoenn. And I fear our reunion with Ash will be welcomed like a platter of Durins." He added.

"...what?" Abel asked turning to Max. Max subtlety shrugged back at him in confusion as well. He looked to May who just shook her head at him.

"I know, I know. It takes a while to decipher what he says, especially if you're not familiar with cuisine." Iris said. "He said our situation sucks and we won't be welcomed by Ash's friends." She expertly translated sticking a finger in the air. "You'll pick up on it sooner or later."

"Well, why didn't he just say that?" Max asked.

"Because my way is much more sophisticated. It presents phrases with the elegance and maturity of a finely seared-" Cilan defended.

"Not that this isn't the most interesting conversation I've ever heard, but... Ash? Remember?" May interrupted irritably. "I'm out of here!" She declared. She turned to take off once again before being stopped...again.

"Wait! May!" Max interrupted her mid-step. "We still don't know where in this place Ash is!" Max said grabbing his sister's wrist. "We need a way to find him, first." Max reasoned. "Any ideas?"

May sighed. "Fine, you're right." She admitted. "So what do we do?"

"Simple." Iris said. "All we need to do is get close. Then I can find him for you!" She said putting her hands proudly on her hips and sticking her nose in the air. "I may have been incapacitated for a while, but I still remember a lot about my time with Ash. I can follow his stench!"

"You know what he smells like?" Max cringed. "That's weird."

"I have an extraordinary sense of smell from living in the wilderness for so long! Recognizing scents is the most efficient way to find food! In fact, I've recognized most of your scents too! I still haven't quite pinned down Max but-" Iris leaned towards Max in inquiry.

"Please don't." Max interrupted taking a step back. "You can smell Ash. Great. Lead the way." He said gesturing to the other side of the room. "Just don't smell me." He ordered.

"You got it! First, let's get out of the basement! You guys did come from the upper levels, right?" To her inquiry Max and Abel both nodded. "Great! Let's go people!" She exclaimed taking off.

Behind her closely followed Cilan, Abel, and May. Max shook his head. "Guys wait up!" He called chasing after them frantically. "Wait for me!"

At the sound of Max shouting the only other remaining residents, Lucy, Tory, Alain, and Bianca, all turned to see the five of them rushing to the far side of the room. Lucy narrowed her eyes at the group. "Hey! Where do you think you're going?! Get back here!" Lucy yelled.

Turning around to face Lucy, but not stopping, now running backwards, May waved at the four allies. "Don't worry about us! Just get yourselves out of here!" She yelled she turned back around and resumed her normal running format.

"I guess they're going to look for Ash." Tory said walking to the right side of Lucy. "That's what they wanted to do in the first place, right?" From his shoulders both Plusle and Minun nodded once simultaneously.

Lucy facepalmed as Alain joined her on her left. "Why did it have to be them of all people? If they find their way to Ash, Brock's going to flip, and probably blame me." She groaned angrily pinching the bridge of her nose.

"What's everyone's deal with them? I can't vouch for all of them, but May and Max are cool. Why do you hate them so much?" Tory asked.

"Because they're traitors." Lucy answered. "But there's nothing I can do about them anymore. Even if I could catch up to them, I doubt I could stop all five of them. We'll have to leave without them."

"Traitors?" Tory asked tilting his head. "What do you mean?"

"You can't be serious, Lucy." Bianca said. Lucy quickly dismissed Tory's inquiry and turned to the Alto Mare girl. "We have to at least leave Abra here with the portal up, or they might not make it out." She suggested. "I don't know what a 'traitor' entails but we were supposed to save everyone."

Lucy sighed. "And I was going to. But they should've thought of that before running off. I'm not going to let my precious little Abra die of exhaustion because he kept the portal up waiting for them. We leave now." She ordered.

Bianca and Tory nodded in submission but Alain continued to stare at the end of the narrow room. "I'm going, too." He said. "Mairin's somewhere here as well, and her fate will be my fate." He took a step forward with intentions of leaving when Lucy put a hand on his shoulder. He turned to look her in the eyes. "Yes?"

Lucy grabbed his other shoulder and flipped him back around to face the gate. "What are you...?" Lucy ignored him and let go of his shoulders and moved her hands to his back. She thrusted forward and shoved the champion into the portal head-first. Alain disappeared with a flash of light leaving only the three of them left.

Lucy wiped her hands together and turned to Tory. "I've let too many people slip by already. Would you like to go willingly or will we do this the fun way?" She asked.

Tory put his hands in front of him quickly. "Willingly. Definitely willingly." He answered fearfully. "No need to use force, right guys?"

"Plu Plu!" Plusle said nodding.

"Nun!" Minun added.

"Good. After you, then." Lucy said gesturing to her pokemon's gateway.

~ Kanto ~

Scott was currently spending his afternoon the same way he had been spending most of his free time for quite a while, at his kitchen table, which was covered in papers and documents, in front of his small television with his face in his hands. Things had really taken a turn for the worse. Not only had he been unable to find trainers he felt could take on his Battle Frontier as of late, but his brains... It started off with Anabel quitting to go travel to Kalos, but that wasn't so bad, in fact, ever since Ash moved there, he saw it coming. Everyone knew how she felt about Ash. So, Scott already had a replacement lined up who instantly fit in with the others, but then just days later he gets a call from the Battle Arena saying they couldn't find Greta, then Tucker disappears form the Battle Dome, and finally Lucy and Noland took a leave of absence to investigate and look for the two missing brains but Lucy didn't come back with everyone else. No one knows what happened to her.

Not only was he behind in his bills without a functioning Battle Frontier to bring in money, but he was down three employees, three friends. He had already dug into his emergency funds just beefing up security for the remaining four brains and he was running out fast. He needed a miracle.

'We interrupt your regularly scheduled program to bring you breaking news in what has been dubbed 'The Kidnapping Phenomenon'. My name is Michelle Lyn and as you should know, there has been a spike in kidnapping cases in recent months,' A reporter said from Scott's TV. She was a girl with long brown hair and a business suit with 'Kalos Channel 7' plastered on the front.

"Great. More depressing news." Scott said he reached for his remote eager to change the channel before he became any more depressed.

'We just got word from the famous Professor Sycamore that he has found the captives.' In the report released by the Kalos Police Force, he is currently working hard to reunite the victims. He has agreed to answer a few questions for us here at Channel 7. Joining us now are Professor Sycamore and Kanto's own Dome Ace-'

"Tucker!" Scott said dropping the remote just before he hit the button. The TV panned to reveal Professor Sycamore and Tucker standing side by side. "I don't believe it! I thought everyone gave up on searching!"

'So, Professor...' The reported said pointing the microphone in his face. 'everyone wants to know from the hero himself, exactly did you find the captives?'

'Hero?' Sycamore flinched. 'No, no, no. I'm not the hero. I did not mastermind the plan. I was merely a follower. To make a long story short, when a close friend of mine never came home, we discovered he might have gone to the pokeball factory and that's where we found everyone.' Sycamore explained. Scott leaned forward in suspense. He remembered Anabel talking about Ash going to live with Sycamore after his mother showed her true colors. He really hoped that Ash wasn't the 'friend' he was talking about. He did have a knack for finding trouble.

'Can we meet these masterminds?' Michelle asked. 'They deserve recognition, wouldn't you agree?'

'Unfortunately, they're still in the factory. Poor Anabel! In a dark factory with that evil man!' Tucker said dramatically resting the back of his hand on his forehead. Sycamore glared and elbowed him the side.

The reporter's eyes widened. 'Do you mean to say that there are still people in the factory and more importantly in danger? You didn't save everyone?'

'We did the best we could.' Sycamore responded. 'I'm sure Ash will be able to save everyone else still inside.' He said confidently.

'Ash as in Ash Ketchum? The boy who came in second in the Kalos league not that long ago?' The reporter asked.

'Professor Sycamore!' Another voice called. The camera shifter to the right, showing The Pike Queen standing behind the Professor. Professor Sycamore quickly turned around to face the beauty. 'We got a situation!' She informed him.

"Lucy." Scott said smiling. That was two out of three. All he wanted now was confirmation that Greta was okay, and he would finally be able to sleep again.

'No more questions.' Sycamore said rushing off. Tucker waved to the camera quickly before running off as well.

Michelle turned to her cameraman and brought the mic back to her mouth. 'Jennies are now hatching a rescue plan for anyone who might still be inside the factory, and hope to dispatch very soon. This is truly-' Scott had seen enough. He picked his remote back up and turned off the TV.

Beside him his mobile began vibrating on his table. He picked it up and hit the green button. "Spenser?" There was a moment of silence from Scott's end before he spoke back. "Yeah, I saw it." He informed the elder man. "And I'll bet Greta's there, too. Pack a change of clothes. You and me are heading to Kalos on the double. Tell Brandon to hold down the fort 'till we get back." Scott told him. "Meet me at the airport in a couple hours."

~Pokeball Factory~

~The Heart~

Aaron, with a prideful, cocky, stance looked to the other side of the field at the newcomer glaring at him, not moving from her stance over the fallen Sceptile. He then looked to Ash who still held a look of uncertainty on his face. In front of Aaron floated his shiny Jellicent, bobbing up and down with grace. Jellicent was eyeing Donphan eagerly waiting for her master's orders. "Keep in mind Ash," Aaron said. "One more loss and I win." He taunted. "and there are still four matches left. I might not even get to my partner."

"Which is?" Ash asked.

"My secret. If you want to know so bad, then let's see you fight your way there! But I'll have you know Jellicent has only ever lost once. Only to my partner."

Ash groaned in frustration. "Listen here, traitor." Ash said dangerously causing Donphan to look back at him with saddened eyes. She obviously didn't like being called traitor but Ash figured she should've thought about that long ago. "He only wants to battle you for some reason, so you're going to do exactly as I say, when I say it!" Donphan nodded sadly and looked back to Aaron's Jellicent. Ash quickly returned Sceptile, removing him from his position under Donphan who was intensifying her glare at Aaron.

"That's it." Aaron taunted. "Show me some of that spunk I saw in your eyes earlier. Jellicent, dear," He said turning to the bulbous creature. "Use Scald for me." From her mouth shot a stream of boiling hot water on a straight path towards Donphan. Without stopping her attack, Jellicent began giggling and moved forward towards Donphan.

"Defense Curl! Block it!" Donphan curled up into a ball and began glowing a light blue as she spun rapidly in place. The beam of hot water collided with the armored up Donphan but instead of doing damage, was deflected off of her. The stream quickly changed course and shot ninety degrees upward from Donphan's position hitting the ceiling and dispatching into a rainstorm of large and not so large. Ash found it weird however, that even though it clearly wasn't affecting Donphan, Jellicent just kept going.

Serena put out her hand and felt the raindrops hit her skin. "What's the point of the Scald. He's just wasting Jellicent's energy."

"I doubt that's all there is to it." Anabel said. "He's planning something else. Don't forget it's currently two-nothing."

Aaron looked up the ceiling to find it had reached what was probably the maximum number of raindrops that would be gathered at once. Lucky for him they were mostly conglomerating around Donphan thanks to the Scald being directed towards her alone. He looked to see Jellicent still going strong. "Switch gears, Jellicent!" Aaron called.

Jellicent shot into the air and descended back closer to Aaron. She spread out her larger tentacles and began vibrating furiously. All around the room fierce winds of freezing temperature kicked up.

Ash did his best to look through the storm and could make out at least Donphan's figure. "She's using Blizzard!" Clemont called placing both arms in front of his face to try and block out as much of the storm as possible. Anabel and Kidd tried backing up as far as possible in a desperate attempt to get out of the storm. Mairin curled up into a ball protecting Chespie and Paul turned around and enveloped Dawn in a hug in an attempt to shield her as much as possible. Finally, Serena grabbed her hat to keep it from blowing away and tried to mimic Clemont's movements and squinting, trying to look through the storm.

"Pika!" Pikachu yelled. "Pika!" He pointed to the storm above them.

"Freezing rain? What are you talking ab-" Ash was cut off as he finally was able to make out the scene above them.

Above them all the large raindrops quickly froze over creating falling icicles that rained down on Donphan. The Armor Pokemon tried avoiding them by sidestepping, trying extra hard because of her weakness to ice, but it was inevitable that some would make contact. Donphan could be seen visibly flinching with each icicle that hit her. Ash gritted his teeth as he watched his former friend take a barrage of much larger Icicles before the rain finally stopped. All his friends behind him resumed their normal stances as the storm died. "Neat trick, huh? Jellicent keep it up with Hydro Pump! And leave them a little surprise!" Jellicent floated swiftly and gracefully to the left before firing a large blast of water at Donphan.

The Hydro Pump hit Donphan directly in the face causing her to revert into ball form and roll backward, in a daze. She quickly went back to her regular state, sprawled out on the ground. "Get up, Donphan!" Ash urged. "You're not done yet; I know you aren't!" Donphan slowly but steadily got to her feet, shivering the whole time. Her face was turning a deep red and there were small purple blotches scattered across. "What the-" Before he could finish his sentence Donphan fell backwards onto her rear and rested her front feet on the ground in an effort to stabilize herself. Ash looked to Aaron who was giving Ash a knowing smirk. "Don't tell me,,, the surprise was more poison..."

"Kaa..." Pikachu said, ears drooping. "Chuu."

"Okay. I won't tell you. But I think you already know it." Aaron replied. "I'd get a move on, if she's anything like Sceptile, she won't last much longer." He said.

"But how?" Mairin asked. "How could a Hydro Pump poison Donphan?"

"In theory," Clemont responded scratching his chin. "if she were to use both Hydro Pump and Toxic at the same time, he'd be able to slip in the toxins without anyone noticing." Clemont told her.

Beside him, Kidd nodded. "As long as they're focused on the giant pump of water, they'd easily overlook a few toxic bubbles. He might have even submerged the bubbles in the water."

"Bingo." Aaron said. He looked to his Jellicent who was looking very proud of her triumph. "Don't celebrate yet, she's weak but not out."

"Got it!" Ash said turning to Pikachu. "Manuvir 5, remember?!" Beside Pikachu nodded eagerly. "Donphan! Think back to our old training days for the Sinnoh League! Manuvir 5, go! Use Rollout!" Ash ordered. Donphan nodded and shakily got back to all fours and eyed Jellicent.

"Doooon!" She growled contorting back into a ball. She rolled at a fast pace in place for a moment before using Rollout to shoot forward, making a beeline for Jellicent.

"A single Rollout?" Aaron mused. "You'll have to do better than that. Block him." Jellicent crossed her two longer tentacles across her body in an 'x' formation. Donphan leaped into the air, still in a spherical form, and slammed into Jellicent's crossed limbs trying to force her way through. Jellicent struggled for a moment before pushing the armored pokemon back by thrusting her tentacles in a wide formation and pushed Donphan into the air.

Ash narrowed his eyes. Now was his chance as Jellicent's tentacles pushed Donphan back they also left an opening leading straight to her face. "Manuvir 5 go!" Ash called. Donphan quickly loosened her body back to normal mid-air. She looked down at Jellicent's parting tentacles.

"Phan!" Donphan opened her mouth wide and an orange-yellow glow enveloped her face before she fired of a heavy beam of pure strength down at the bulbous pokemon. It traveled through the small opening and before Jellicent could react the Hyper Beam connected with her face, knocking her back all the way into the wall behind her.

"I see." Aaron mused as he watched Jellicent regain her composure. "The old fake-out. Well played, but you know the downside with fake-outs?" He asked Ash as Jellicent slid back to her trainer.

"They never work a second time." Ash groaned. Not only did he lose Manuvir 5, but Donphan was still poisoned. And it showed on her face. She was red in the face and probably losing strength fast. "I know. But we landed a hit, and that proves we can land another one! Rollout!" As soon as Donphan touched the ground she shot back forward toward the recomposed Jellicent.

"Block it! Don't make the same mistake twice!" Aaron ordered. Jellicent knocked Donphan away again, this time making sure to knock her to the ground to prevent anymore unfortunate circumstances. Donphan hit the ground but instantly attacked with another Rollout, only to be knocked with Jellicent's other main tentacle this time. She fell back onto the ground and retreated back to Ash.

"Whatever you're going to do Ash, do it quick!" Anabel yelled.

"Why?" Dawn asked.

"Besides the obvious?" Anabel responded sacastically. "Donphan's last two Rollouts were slower. No doubt you've noticed, Ash." She said addressing the boy.

"Yeah. That wasn't any small dose of poison. Donphan's losing. She will lose if I don't think of something." Ash said. Ahead of him Donphan was panting heavily and shivering constantly. Suddenly it felt like twenty light bulbs went off in his head. "Anabel, do you have anything that can use protect?"

"Mirror Coat work?" Anabel smirked.

"Even better. Whoever it is, call them out." Ash ordered. Anabel nodded and unclipped a pokeball off of her suit. She held it out in front of her and in a flash of light released one of her oldest friends. A humanoid creature with a long mustache and two spoons for weapons. Alakazam. "Perfect. I knew I could count on you." Behind him Anabel shot Serena a cocky smirk causing the latter to let out an audible 'hmph' as Dawn patted her back half-sympathetically.

"Oh, Ash." Aaron said. "You don't plan on cheating, do you? Granted if you do, I'll still win, but I'll be very disappointed."

"Not on your life. I've just never tried this before." Ash said confidently. He reached to his shoulder and grabbed Pikachu and brought him in front of his face. "Sorry, buddy. It's one thing if me or Donphan get hurt, but I don't want to risk your health. You can take your spot back in a minute, I promise."

"Pika?"

"Serena, catch!" Ash called. He turned swiftly and tossed the little mouse towards the performer. Pikachu let out a surprised chirp as he flew through the air and a soft grunt as he landed in Serena's arms. Slightly dazed he looked up to see Serena smiling down at him. As Pikachu repositioned himself into a more comfortable position. Serena shot a look of her own at Anabel and raised her eyebrow at the empath who just frowned in return.

"Put up that barrier, Anabel, because I have no clue what I'm doing!" Ash said. "Donphan, get ready!"

"What about you?!" Serena yelled. From the ground in front of her a giant pink wall phased into existence and rose to the ceiling effectively cutting the rest of them of from Ash and Aaron's battle.

From the entrance came two new figures. Brock skid to a stop once he was inside and spotted Ash on the other side of the barrier. Right after him came little Bonnie, still holding Squishy in her arms. She looked and immediately spotted her brother. "Clemont!"

Clemont turned around at the sound of his little sister's voice and darted toward her. "Bonnie!" He exclaimed wrapping her in a hug. "I'm so glad you're here safe." He said squeezing her. "I wish I could've come and found you-"

"It's alright, big bro. I'm fine, thanks to Squishy." She said happily presenting Squishy to her brother proudly.

Brock quickly approached the group and took a place between Serena and Anabel. "What's going on? And is that...Ash's old Donphan? How'd she get here?"

"Oh, you know, a battle to decide the fate of Kalos and possibly the world. Just another day for Ash." Serena answered.

"As for Donphan," Anabel continued. "It's a long story, all I know is, her pokeball broke and she's remorseful for what she did, and while I'm not sure she's worthy of forgiveness, she is extremely strong so..." She shrugged. "might as well take advantage of the situation."

"On another note, it's good to see you alive and well, Brock." Kidd said. "You had me worried when I heard you got caught."

"Kidd! I guess you came to my rescue, too."

On the other side of the barrier unaware of the reunion going on, Ash stood ready. "Donphan, use Rollout, one last time!" He ordered. Donphan curled up into a ball and started on her trail to Jellicent.

"This again?" Aaron groaned. "Jellicent use Scald, stop her in her tracks." Aaron ordered. From Jellicent's mouth a beam of water shot forward at Donphan. Donphan shifted her roll to the left dodging the attack easily. Annoyed, Jellicent fired another one just to have Donphan lean to the left again causing the attack to miss. "Jellicent, hit her!" Aaron yelled. Jellicent nodded and shot another Scald at Donphan. This time Donphan had mostly closed the gap between them making her easier to hit, the attack finally went through crashing into Donphan with a good-sized splash.

"Power through it!" Ash said. "Into the air!" Donphan kept rolling against the stream of water coming at her without slowing down a single bit. In seconds the stream weakened and Donphan broke through causing the beam to split off into two different directions with Donphan at the center. She jumped into the air just as Ash ordered her to as she began to feel the poison coming close to taking her out.

"Don't stop rolling! Use Hyper Beam!" Ash said pumping a fist into the air. "This is our last chance!" Keeping up her speed and form, you couldn't tell where from Donphan the Hyper Beam was coming from, all one could see was a rolling ball of fury and a giant laser coming from her. As she rolled the laser began firing everywhere. First at Jellicent who was knocked back by the laser, but as she continued rolling, she was eventually in a position of firing the laser towards Ash. Seeing this coming Ash dropped to the ground quickly, landing on the duffle bag with his pokemon in order to shield them from any damage, and causing the laser to fly past him and into the barrier keeping his friends apart.

"Ash!" Anabel yelled as Alakazam flinched holding the barrier against the Hyper Beam. "Are you okay?!"

"Told you you were going to need that barrier." He said cockily. He pushed up from his knee back to his feet and dusted himself off before he turned back to the fight just in time to see the fiery balled-up Donphan collide with Jellicent. At collision, a giant explosion, caused by the Hyper Beam, occurred between the two pokemon at the point of impact. The explosion pushed Aaron back a few feet as he covered his face with his arms. As the smoke cleared, both Ash and Aaron waited for the victor to be revealed.

Jellicent was the first to come into view. She was laying on the back of her large, bulbous head with her much smaller body drooping over. As she remained unmoving Ash's friends began to regain hope. "He beat her!" Serena exclaimed. "I told you all you had to do was believe!"

"Sorry, Serena." Brock said. "But you might want to take a closer look." He said pointing forward. Ahead of them Donphan was laying on the cold floor on her side, eyes closed, and panting heavily.

"Well, well." Aaron mused. "We have a tie. You scrape by another round, Ash." Aaron returned Jellicent before pocketing the pokeball and turning his attention back to Donphan. "Now what to do with her? She may have finally given me a fight but she's certainly outlived her welcome here." He said.

Behind the two trainers Anabel had returned Alakazam causing the barrier to phase out and a pokeball flew forward and smack Donphan on her armored back. It flew backwards a bit and open up mid-air, sucking Donphan inside. It quickly snapped shut and bounced off the ground and back into the hand of Ash's buddy, Brock. "I'll hold onto her for the time being." Brock said.

The familiar voice caused Ash to immediately turn around and make quick eye contact with his best friend. "Brock!" He yelled happily. He took a step to rejoin his friends when another figure entered the room. An orange haired girl Ash knew very well. "Misty..." Ash said shocked. "What are you doing here?"

Brock whipped around and lowered his eyebrows at the girl. "I thought I told you to get out of here with the others." He groaned.

Misty looked around the room to find everyone but Kidd and Anabel staring her down too. "Uhh...I..." She shook her head rapidly knocking herself out of her trance. "I couldn't just leave. Not while Ash was in trouble." She said confidently.

Serena gritted her teeth hard. "You don't deserve to be near him. Now leave, before I make you leave."

"Pika-"

"I'll gladly help." Paul interrupted cracking his knuckles. "I'm done playing nice with traitors." He growled.

"Now hold on." Anabel added. She walked over to Serena and grabbed her by the shoulders. "You're going to stand over here," She said pushing a reluctant Serena over by where she and Kidd were standing. "and leave her be."

"But-"

"Pikachu!" The little mouse screeched.

Misty's eyes widened. "Pikachu?!" She gasped covering her mouth, scanning his implants. "Oh my Arceus! What happened to you?!"

"As if you don't already know." Paul said bitterly. "You're lucky Pikachu can't use electric attacks anymore or you'd be getting one hell of a Thunderbolt." Misty reached out to pet Pikachu's ear sympathetically only to have Serena yank the mouse out of her reach.

The performed glared at the orange haired girl. "Don't touch him." She growled.

"Anabel's right, Serena." Kidd added resting a hand on Serena's shoulder. "Don't focus on her. Try and remember the real enemy here." She said.

Serena snapped her head to the side away from Misty. "Fine. But I don't have to like it." She reeled back to look Misty in the eyes. "But I'm still watching you, scum." Misty recoiled slightly. From what she had previously heard about Serena, she wasn't one for throwing insults.

"And you..." Dawn added grabbing Paul's arm and pulling him back. "don't need to be doing anything illegal." She scolded. "No one likes a criminal." Paul crossed his arms and scoffed.

"Aww." Aaron interrupted. Everyone turned to the older man. "I was really hoping for some good old-fashion fisticuffs." He said. "Oh well, guess I'll have to make my own!" He pulled out another pokeball and spun it on top of his pointer finger. He opened his hand up and the ball dropped into his palm. "Gallade!" He yelled opening the ball up. Out of it came a white and green humanoid pokemon.

"What is that?" Bonnie asked.

"A Gallade." Anabel answered. "An extremely strong psychic and fighting type pokemon. I considered training one once before but came across a lonely Kadabra first."

"Fighting, huh? Well let's fight fire with fire. Or in this case..." He pulled out a pokeball of his own out of the duffle bag beside him. "fists with fists. Infernape!" Ash threw the pokeball into the air, releasing the fiery ape onto the field.

Infernape slowly lifted his head up to meet Gallade's glare with his own. "Ape!" He roared, bearing his fangs at his opponent. "Nape!" He raised both his fists in front of him and planted his feet, one ahead of him and one behind. Gallade gracefully mirrored his movements and held the pose.

~Lab 1~

Kane was standing outside the first of several labs scattered across the entire factory. Ahead of him there were two women guarding the entrance to the lab. He was currently in line with two people ahead of him and seven people behind him. He had no idea what was going on, just that a code black was issued. He figured that information must be above his pay grade. Hanging off of his shoulder, swinging happily, was his best friend Aipom. As it came to be his turn, he stepped up to the doorway to the lab.

"Name and occupation, please." One of the women asked.

"Kane Hopper. Progress information manager." Kane responded.

"And the pokemon?" She added.

"You mean Aipom? He's my...assistant, I guess. He's definitely good at keeping the morale up." Kane said. Aipom swung himself up around Kane's arm and into the air. He did a little half-flip and landed on top of his friend's shoulder before nodding.

The older lady holding an electronic pad looked up and turned to her partner. "He's clean. No previous infractions and no archived family." She said. "You can go in." The door they were guarding slid open for Kane and Aipom.

"Hey, what do you mean, archived family? You've got birth records on there?" Kane asked.

"Sir, if you don't go in now, I'll have to deny you access." The first lady asserted. "We have many more people to get through."

"Sorry." Kane said, bowing apologetically. "Thank you for your time." He added. He straightened out and stepped through the door into the lab. The door violently slid shut behind him as he found himself in a room with many people he had never even seen before. "These must be lab workers." Kane said turning to Aipom. "It's the one place we rarely visit."

"Pom. Ape." The purple monkey nodded. "Aipo?" He asked tilting his head.

"Don't know. I guess we'll just have to hide out in here until we get word that everything's safe. I really wish I knew what 'code black' meant. It might set my mind at ease a bit more." He responded. "Until then, we'll just have to keep ourselves occupied. If this is a secret safe room, then they have to have emergency food stashed away somewhere in here. Wanna help me find it?"

"Pom!" He said happily, performing a backflip and landing on his tail-hand. "Aipom!"

"I hope they get those kids in here before whatever's happening happens. I'd hate to see the happy couple suffer that kind of pain at their age." Kane thought out loud. "Right, food. Let's go." He said getting himself back on track.


	22. Aaron's True Partner

~Pokeball Factory~

~Main Floor~

"You got anything yet, Iris?" Cilan asked as the two of them sprinted down a dark hallway with May right behind them and Abel and Max following farther back. They were currently on their way to find Ash and attempt to get him out of the dark factory. Lucky for them they hadn't seen many workers and the ones they did see weren't interested in them. They ran right past saying something about missing final call.

Iris, not stopping for a moment stuck her nose up into the air and sucked up air in a couple short sniffs. "Oh yeah, that's him! I've got the kid now! To the right." She ordered. The group of five took a sharp right into a large open room, continuing on.

"Something's off." May said. "We should've run into somebody by now." She said. "But I haven't seen a single human or pokemon."

"Brock said they'd have no reason to follow orders anymore. Their boss has no control over them now." Misty shot back.

"But we still should've seen someone by now." Max called. "Judging by the windows we saw back in the other hallway that were blocked by heavy metal, I'd guess we're in some kind of lockdown. They should be locked in too but they all seemed to have disappeared."

"I guess it is a little weird," Iris joined. "but I'm not complaining." She huffed in another bunch of the air around them. "The scent is getting stronger!"

Behind the frontrunners Abel leaned over to Max. "So... Max, your sister-" He started hopefully.

"Forget it, Abel. May's not looking for a date. She's married... to contests." Max said cutting him off.

"How'd you know what I was gonna say? You some kind of mind reader, now?" Abel asked.

"You think you're the first person to have the hots for my sister?" Max asked raising an eyebrow. "She's got an entire fanbase willing to do anything just to stand in the same room as her, I can't tell you how many guys have tried to get her affection, and failed miserably. Many of them far better looking than you." Max informed him with amusement.

"Hey! I thought we were friends!" Abel whined.

Max smiled happily. "We are. And friends are honest with each other. In my professional opinion, as her brother, you need work if you want even a shot." He said pushing his glasses up.

"Well you know, you're no stud either!" Abel shot back in defense.

"Yeah, but I have brains." Max countered. "I could produce a serum to make myself handsome in seconds if I really wanted to." The two shared a laugh together.

"What are you two so happy about?!" May asked. "Need I remind you of the situation we're in?!"

"Nothing!" Max shot back. He quickly turned back to Abel. "I forgot to mention she's a major buzzkill."

~The Heart~

"Gallade versus Infernape." Kidd observed. "I've never seen this particular match-up before. I hope Ash knows what he's doing."

"I think it'd almost be better if he didn't know what he was doing in this case." Paul added. "Do you want to tell him or should I?" Paul asked turning to Brock.

"Pika?" Pikachu asked turning to Paul. Pikachu jumped straight out of Serena's arms and scaled Ash's body before resting on his shoulder once again. Ahead of him, Infernape stood, battle ready, with both fists placed in front of him, Gallade immediately had met his stance with one bladed arm pointed towards the flaming monkey.

"Your move, Ash." Aaron smirked. "I've been so interested in seeing this Infernape of yours in action. Please..." He said sweetly. "don't hold back." He turned to his psychic student. "I'll leave this part to you."

"Ash there's something you should know." Anabel said. "Gallade can-"

"You asked for it." Ash replied apparently not hearing his friend. "Infernape use Close Combat!" Ash ordered. Infernape nodded with a grunt and leaned forward towards Gallade before kicking off using his left foot, heading straight for his opponent at lightnings pace, fists rearing. Behind Ash Paul facepalmed hard. He contemplated saying something but it was already too late. Once in range, Infernape plunged his fist forward only to be met with a single bladed arm, stopping his attack dead on impact. As Infernape's eyes widened Gallade used his free arm to knock Infernape back towards Ash, feet skidding on the floor.

"Impossible." Ash said.

"Pika! Pi?" Pikachu asked pointing at Infernape. "Pika!"

"Not at that speed, he couldn't..." Ash steeled himself and glared at the psychic type. "Try again Infernape, even faster!" Infernape repeated his actions once again, this time pushing the limits of his body's physical capabilities. He once again tried for Gallade's face, but Gallade leaned slightly to the left, causing the fist to miss him. Infernape quickly tried a lightning fast uppercut but Gallade jump back a little. As the uppercut missed, Infernape jumped into the air, doing a complete 360-degree spin and lunching his tail at Gallade, who simple leaned back as far as he could banding backwards, his knees at a 90-degree angle, narrowly missing the monkey's tail. Gallade quickly backflipped back to his feet before dropping to the ground and using Low Seep to knock Infernape off his feet.

"Psycho Cut." Aaron said calmly. Gallade nodded and raised one arm to the air. The blade on his arm flashed a purple glow, instantly sprouting in length. Gallade slammed the newly sized blade into the fire-types stomach and holding it there, causing major damage.

"Get him off of you, Infernape!" Infernape's eyes narrowed. He rested one foot up against Gallade but before he could thrust him off, his opponent jumped back on her own landing gracefully back into a fighting stance. Infernape quickly staggered to his feet, meeting Gallade's gaze with a growl.

"Infernape, you okay?" Ash asked. Infernape looked back at Ash with a smirk nodding once, but it didn't take years of time together to notice he was getting agitated.

"Ash!" Anabel yelled. "Listen to me!"

Ash flinched a little before answering. "Okay, okay, you don't have to yell at me."

"Ash he can read your mind!" Anabel told him urgently. "That's why you can't hit him!"

"So now you can read minds too, old man?" Ash said shooting a look at Aaron. "That's cheating, don't you think?"

"Not Aaron, you dolt!" Paul scolded. "Gallade!" He said pointing to the psychic-type. "Are you really that clueless?! Do you ever read up on strategy?!"

"Ash has always been one to take a more... direct approach." Dawn told him. She leaned over to him. "I'm not even sure he can read." She whispered.

Aaron scowled at Ash's companions. "Leave it to you to ruin the fun." He said. "Though it doesn't make that much of a difference. Gallade, they may know our little secret, but you can still take as long as you need." Gallade nodded to his trainer before turning back to Infernape.

"Infernape, keep a distance! Use flamethrower!" Infernape opened his mouth unleashing a spire of orange and yellow flames headed straight for Gallade. Aaron gave Gallade another nod, and he proceeded to launch himself straight up in the air, avoiding the searing hot flames. After a single flip the psychic descended towards the fire type. Infernape quickly fired off another flamethrower into the air at the graceful free faller. Gallade started twirling his body around dodging the blast once again. Once the flames had passed his arm glowed purple once more, bringing out another Psycho Cut.

Infernape did a few handsprings backwards, avoiding the potentially damaging impact. "Close Combat." Aaron ordered.

"Likewise, Infernape!" The two pokemon bridged the gap between themselves and began exchanging blows once again. Infernape went straight for a gut punch but Gallade quickly knocked the hand away. Gallade swung his left arm at Infernape in retaliation, before Infernape quickly caught the bladed arm in his hand, the two sides struggling for dominance. Gallade kept pushing but couldn't overpower the ape. Infernape reared his remaining fist back and thrusted it forward only to be caught by Gallade once again. With both of their respective pairs of arms occupied Infernape brought up his leg to kick the psychic away, but with a quick peek into the ape's mind Gallade quickly caught on and shoved up with both arms, throwing Infernape slightly off balance, before catching the leg just before impact.

Infernape's eyes widened as Gallade did a backwards flip connecting his foot with Infernape's chin knocking the ape back to his trainer, sliding on his back. "Infernape! You okay buddy?!" Infernape's eyes struggled to open as he heard his friend's call. "Infernape, move!" Ash and a few of his friends shouted. shouted. Infernape's eyes shot open to find Gallade, once again, descending down towards him with a charged-up Psycho Cut. Infernape rolled over to left to get out of the way just before Gallade could hit him. "Just play defense while I think something up, buddy!"

"Nape!" He agreed. As Gallade came rushing towards him again he jumped back a few meters and fired of Flamethrowers in an attempt to slow down Gallade, who just dodged them as they came at him. Ash was racking his brain for every strategy he could think of. He saw Infernape jump back to avoid a bright laser, but Gallade must have read his mind and adjusted for the attempted dodge, knocking Infernape back once again.

"As long as Gallade keeps reading Infernape's mind, I don't see this battle turning out too well." Brock observed.

"There's a crux in every battle strategy, it's just a matter of if you're clever enough to find it." Kidd said back. "He's gotta find it fast."

"What's he supposed to do?!" Serena said. "Not think about the battle in front of him?!" She said.

Suddenly, a light bulb the size of Groudon went off inside his head. 'Not think about it... can it be that simple? That's it!' He turned back to his friends with a smile. "Serena! You're a genius!" He complemented happily. "Infernape back to my side!" Ash called. Infernape hopped back just in front of Ash. He was panting so heavily, Ash thought he was about to pass out. "You okay?" Ash asked. "I can bring out someone else if you need a rest."

Infernape met Gallade's gaze. He too, was panting heavily. "Fern." He growled. "Infernape!"

"Listen. As long as your thoughts are clear, there's no way we can win. But if you cloud your thoughts...it'll take longer for them to decipher your every move. As your fighting focus on your attacks, but think about other things too, clutter your mind as much meaningless crap as you can without losing focus. I won't be able to call out attacks anymore, so it's all up to you!"

"Ape."

"No more standing around! Dazzling Gleam!" Gallade's eyes glowed pink releasing rays of light from them spreading all around and making their way to Infernape.

"There's no dodging this!" Ash called. "Just brace yourself!" Infernape crossed his arms in front of him and the bright light enveloped his entire body, singeing his fur lightly. The light around him faded and he slowly lowered his arms, revealing his eyes back to his opponent.

Aaron threw up an eyebrow. "Ooh. What's this? As infernape stared daggers into his Gallade, the eyes of the ape grew brighter and brighter, reaching a peak of a dark red. "Blaze? Haven't seen that in a while."

Before he could say another word, the fire atop Infernape's head roared, doubling in size. Both the ape's fists bursted into combustion and he was covered with a red aura. Everyone in the room immediately felt a wave of heat wash over them as the blaze raged. "That's a strong Blaze." Aaron said clearly impressed.

"Buddy?" Ash asked. Infernape slowly turned his head to his friend and grunted an affirmative noise at the boy. Ash smiled. "Alright, just making sure you hadn't lost yourself, there, buddy." Infernape turned back to the battle and shut his eyes. He bared his fangs and quickly compiled as many memories into his mind at once. He thought of his first day of training with Ash, the day he evolved from his Monferno stage, the treats Serena made that he loved so much, Sparring with Sceptile. As soon as he was sure he had thoroughly covered his thoughts he let out a small battle cry and charged at Gallade.

"Psycho Cut!" Aaron yelled. "And break through that shield of his!" Gallade rushed towards infernape, extending and arm. It centered itself and peeked into Infernape's mind to anticipate his move. He was met with a vision of Infernape swinging through the trees deep in a Sinnoh forest. Gallade shook the memory off and prepared for combat. Infernape leaped into the air, soaring forward, and landing in front of Gallade with a pound. Gallade immediately slashed his blade at Infernape, who easily ducked under the attack.

"Our turn." Ash said. Infernape clenched his flaming fist and slammed it up against Gallade's stomach, knocking him off his balance. He snapped his head up to see Gallade slamming an arm down at him. He let off an extraordinarily strong flamethrower, stopping the arm in its tracks and covering Gallade's entire body in flames. Gallade was knocked into the air before descending back down onto his back violently.

"Get up, Gallade. Win this, and the battle's done!" Aaron called. Gallade staggered to his feet slowly. "Close Combat, Gallade. I want this finished!" Gallade penetrated Infernape's mind once more and found a memory of Infernape hanging around at Sycamore's corral with Buizel and Staraptor. Pushing farther into his mind he saw no signs of any strategy, just arbitrary memories. "Forget the mind-reading and just fight!" Aaron called.

Gallade raised both arms up as they began to glow white, he leaned forward and pushed off with his back foot and rocketed towards Infernape. Infernape met his challenge with a smirk. He roared one last time as his entire body was covered in deep, deep, red fire and he charged forward, putting everything he had left into the attack.

"That's Flare Blitz." Serena said. "Why would he...?"

"He better hope this works." Clemont agreed. "That move can be just as deadly for Infernape as it is for Gallade."

"Full power!" Ash called. "I know you can do it!"

"Pika!" The little mouse joined in.

The two met head-on with a massive explosion covering the entire field in blinding smoke. The dust and smoke dispersed slowly as both Ash and Aaron leaned forward, eager to find out who was the victor. The first figure, Gallade, was revealed to be on one knee, bracing himself on the ground with an arm, moments after Infernape was revealed on all fours, panting heavily. His Blaze ability had deactivated and he once again was seen as a normal Infernape. Infernape and Gallade met gazes one last time...

Gallade reared his head back and fell face-first onto the floor, unconscious. Infernape took one more deep breath before resting his entire body weight on his knee. Slowly he pushed himself up onto to feet and raised a single fist into the air. "In... fern... ape." He said out of breath.

"You did it!" Ash said, rushing forward and wrapping the fire ape in a hug. "I knew you could do it, buddy!" He praised ignoring the head flames nearly reaching his face.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu said resting a hand on his shoulder.

Ash backed away from the hug smiling at his friend. Infernape's eyes drooped and he fell sideways into Ash's arms. "Easy, pal. You may have just saved Kalos. I'd say that deserves some rest and a feast of kings when you wake up." Ash smiled. Infernape returned the gesture and allowed himself to be returned to his pokeball for some much-needed rest.

"Well done." Aaron said in a sweet tone, giving Ash a round of soft applause. "That was some feat. You definitely trained your Infernape right. But I hope you're ready to bring your best once again because I still have two left."

"And all I have to do is win against both." Ash said with determination.

"That easy, is it?" Aaron smirked grabbing his next pokemon.

"Not easy, but Infernape and, I hate to admit it, but Donphan, have proved you're not unbeatable."

From the entrance a familiar jungle-girl and connoisseur entered the room behind the others.

"Ash! Told you I could find him!" Iris yelled coming to a halt. She looked around to find everybody looking at her mostly glares. But at least a few of them weren't trying to assault her with glares. CIlan nodded reassuring her he never doubted her. Iris looked around to everyone staring at her. "Hi! Remember me? I feel like Ash and I left off on a bad note a while back. If you could just kindly forge a path, I'm sure we can figure everything-"

"Whatever you have to say to him can wait." Anabel said coolly. "He's busy." Iris and Cilan peered around the group to see Ash and Aaron in a staring match.

"Who's that?" Iris asked.

May, Max, and Abel rushed in afterwards stopping in front of the large conglomerate of friends, as well. "Iris..." May said out of breath. "I need to speak to your personal trainer, like, yesterday. How do run so fast so consistently?"

"What'd we miss?" Max asked, turning to Brock, knowing full well he'd probably be one of the only ones willing to speak to him. He noticed Serena standing with the group, so that meant... "Ash okay?"

"For now." Brock answered. "One more win for Aaron, and he loses. Who knows what happens, then?"

"Charizard! I need you!" Ash yelled letting a pokeball fly through the air. The pokeball opened mid-air, and in a flash of red and white the orange dragon was unleashed. Charizard looked to Aaron with disdain, flames spilling from his mouth. He roared once in an attempt to intimidate him. It didn't work.

"Oh, I'm well aware you never liked me." Aaron said looking back at him. "You're just as easy to read as your trainer." He held his arm out in front of him and opened the ball in his hand. "To my side." The ball flashed white, leaving behind nothing but a blob. A purple blob with eyes and a mouth.

"Ditto." Ash said.

"Your Charizard's brute strength will be useless in this battle." Aaron said. "Transform, Ditto!" Ditto let out a little cheer as it stretched its body upwards as tall as Charizard. From its back, two giant wings sprouted flapping once behind it. Its middle section bloated significantly as it grew its four appendages. Finally, its face stretched and conformed to the shape of its opponent standing in front of it, all the while, the pigments in its skin transforming to a bright orange. The newly formed Ditto snapped its head upwards and fired a flamethrower into the ceiling, knocking down some debris.

"So that's how it's gonna be, huh?" Ash asked. "Didn't take you for the copycat type."

"We both know that if I took your Charizard head-on, I'd lose. This way, we're even in size and strength." Aaron said. "Is a fair fight too much to ask?"

"Says the guy who had centuries to train his pokemon." Ash muttered under his breath.

~Sycamore's Lab~

Professor Sycamore, Tory, Alain, Bianca and Molly stood outside the corral where the majority of people they had rescued were gathered, awaiting rides home. Sycamore was sitting at a computer typing away as fast as he could. The doors to the corral slid open and Tucker and Lucy stepped through, joining the group of five. "Professor, how goes it?" Lucy asked. "Everyone's eager to go home. A bunch have already left. I tried to stop them, but they wouldn't listen."

Professor Sycamore sighed. "I'm nowhere near finished." He told her. Ahead of him a petit lady sat hooked up to his computer via many wires attached to her head with tiny probes. "I'm only one person. I haven't found any lasting negative effects from the scans on Francine, here, but that doesn't mean that there aren't any. The only way to be sure there was nothing damaging in the liquids you were submerged in is to scan each person who was inside them."

"How long will that take?" Alain asked. "We can't just hold them hostage in the corral for weeks on end. Eventually they're going to get restless and leave."

"Francine is clear." Sycamore said. "Bianca, help her out of those chords." Sycamore rested his head in one of his hands. "Hopefully the pokemon in the corral can keep the children occupied long enough for me to at least check them. If I can just get through all the young ones, I'll be able to sleep a little better." Sycamore told them. "Alain, Lucy, inform them of the situation, then bring me a couple of the young ones. Doesn't matter who. If I work fast enough, they should be out of here relatively soon."

"What about the adults?" Tory asked. "Don't we need to check them, too?"

"They're old enough, that if they want to make irresponsible decisions, then it's on them. The kids have no idea what they've gotten pulled into." Sycamore said. Lucy and Alain nodded and walked back into the corral. "Tory, I'll need Plusle and Minun to act as a sort of therapy pokemon. It's likely some of these kids won't fancy being hooked up to a computer."

"Sure." Tory kneeled down and let his two prankster partners slide off his shoulders and onto the floor. "Whatever helps."

"Molly, Tucker, you guys can go back inside. Try to keep everyone calm and patient. Sophie's working on contacting their families as well, just let them know we'll have them analyzed and out of here as soon as possible."

~Pokeball Factory~

~The Heart~

"I don't get it. Why copy Charizard? Why not just pick someone who has an advantage?" Bonnie asked turning to her big brother.

"In terms of brute strength," Brock interrupted. "I haven't seen a non-legendary or mythical pokemon with as much potential as Ash's Charizard." He told her. "But Ditto can copy Charizard's stats and his moves. It's basically the great equalizer of pokemon."

"Exactly right, young one." Aaron said. "It's the only way to give myself a chance. But now that we're here, Ditto, or should I say Charizard, take to the sky for me, will you?" The fake Charizard nodded. Kicking off the ground with its feet, it launched into the air. With a flap of its wings it came to a stop high above its opponent. Looking down it smirked at the original.

Charizard glared back and let out a deep growl. "All right Charizard, if we want to win, we'll need-" Ignoring Ash, Charizard let out a roar and took to the sky after his doppelganger firing a flamethrower at it on his way up. "Charizard!" Ash scolded.

"Ooh." Aaron said raising an eyebrow. "Looks like someone's angrier than usual. Must not be fond of shapeshifters. Try to change his mind with a Flamethrower." Aaron ordered. Ditto flew to the right avoiding the incoming flames and firing back with a Flamethrower of its own. Charizard ducked down, dodging the attack and continued on his course. Charizard fired a powerful Fire Blast from his mouth in a rage.

"Match it Ditto." Aaron said calmly. Ditto gracefully mimicked the movements of its attacker firing of its own form of a Fire Blast taking the form of a giant Japanese drawing. The two attacks collided in a giant firey battle for dominance until the two attacks ultimately canceled each other out. The resulting explosion knocked both pokemon back down to the ground as the crashed to their feet in front of their respective trainers.

"A loose cannon of your own, eh?" Aaron mocked. "Happens to even the best of us. I can help train him for you if you'd like." In response Charizard's mouth erupted into flames again, this time ready to attack Ditto's trainer.

"Charizard..." Ash said slightly annoyed. "I know this guy pisses you off, but this isn't some rookie battle. We're fighting for all of Kalos here." He scolded. "We need to work together, got it?" Charizard turned and met Ash's eyes. The flames slowly died and he let out a groan and nodded. "Good now-" Ash's head snapped away from Charizard and back to the field. "Look out!"

Charizard turned his attention back to the battle to find Ditto charging at him, arms extended. Charizard moves to the side, narrowly avoiding Ditto's pseudo-claws. "Charizard, a little help?" Ash called seeing the giant fake Dragon on a collision course with himself.

"Ash!" Serena called taking a step forward. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Clemont holding her back.

"You're no help to him dead." Clemont told her.

Charizard twirled around as his tail went up and indigo flames. Charizard forcefully knocked his powered-up tail into Ditto, knocking it of course before it could collide with Ash. Ditto flew to the side crashing up against the left wall of the room violently.

"Oooh. Dragon Tail." Aaron smirked. "Let's try that out Ditto!" Aaron called. Ditto's head snapped up to meet Charizard's glare. It kicked off of the wall and charged through the air towards Charizard, tail glowing with power.

"Don't let it hit you, Charizard!" Ash called. Charizard planted his feet to the ground and braced himself. As the large tail came flying towards him Charizard held his hands out in front of him, catching the tail mid attack. The purple flames began leaving very visible burns on Charizard's hands but it seemed to not bother the dragon too much. "Now, knock him back Charizard!" Ash called. Charizard reared back his arm before colliding it with Ditto's mid-section sending the pretender back into the wall once again, landing in the exact same spot as before. Charizard looked to his charred fingers and wiggled them around a bit.

"That looks like a really bad burn." Dawn said. "Is he gonna be able to use his hands anymore?"

"High pain tolerance." Ash said simply. "Comes in really handy. I doubt he can even really feel the burns." Ash looked at Ditto getting back to his feet slowly. "Charizard into the air. Let's finish this." Ash told him. Charizard nodded and extended his wings outward before shooting up into the sky.

"Follow him Ditto." Aaron ordered. Ditto chased after Charizard as the two circled around each other in a spiral formation, always parallel to their opponent. "Fire Blast!" Ditto's mouth exploded with flames, shooting them right at Charizard who descended under the flames with plenty of time to spare.

"Flamethrower!" Ash called. Charizard shot a horde of flames of his own towards the copycat who flew to the left narrowly dodging it and rocketing back towards Charizard. Ditto smashed into Charizard and flew him into the wall behind him with a crash. "Charizard!" Ash yelled. "You okay?!" The two charizards fell along with the debris from the crash, hitting the ground with a thud. Following their crash, a bunch of debris fell off the wall and onto the two pokemon, covering them both completely. "Charizard!" Ash called.

"Pain tolerance or not, that had to hurt." Dawn observed.

Before anyone could say another word, two figures burst out from under the debris scattering it everywhere beneath them. Both pokemon soared back into the air forcefully before charging each other again, crashing into each other with as much force as either could channel. "Charizard, use Fire Blast!"

"Ditto, Ditto!" Aaron yelled. Ditto shot from its mouth a fury of flames as powerful as it could handle, aiming straight for Charizard. Charizard glared and copied the movement of the copycat, firing off a flurry of his own. The two attacks met in-between the two dragons and exploded in a fiery battle for dominance. Both Fire Blasts raged as no progress was being made on either side.

"Charizard, overpower him!" Ash called. "I need you to give it everything!"

Charizard narrowed his eyes as the blast coming from his mouth slowly grew wider. Ditto caught on and met this by enlarging its own blast. "It's no use Ash. Ditto's ability to transform makes it just as strong as your Charizard." Aaron smirked. "They're equally matched-"

"Wrong." Ash retorted. "You can copy his strength all you want, but willpower can't be duplicated on the spot." Ash told him. Above him Charizard's blast exploded, doubling in size before easily pushing back Ditto's pseudo-Fire Blast. Charizard's blast easily overtook the rest of Ditto's attack assimilating it completely and continued on its track all in a few seconds. Ditto glided backwards in an attempt to get away, but its speed failing it, he got caught resulting in the attack engulfing it from head to toe. From inside the flames Ditto let out a cry and before the flames could completely die down, Ditto fell from its spot in the air back down to the ground, lying on its side. Ditto's wings slowly retreated back into its body, and Ditto began shrinking in overall size as well. In just a few seconds Ditto was back to looking like just that...a Ditto.

"Well that's saddening." Aaron pouted. "But not at all surprising. I never expected to win that round in the first place, anyway." Charizard landed roughly next to Ash and felt Ash's familiar glove stroking his neck. "Sadly, it all ends here. Our final battle, Greninja versus my partner, starts now and then, when I win, you'll have no choice but to give up this silly resistance game."

"Charizard, rest buddy." Ash said pointing a pokeball at him. "You were beyond amazing." Charizard let out a last quick grunt before being recalled back into his living space. "I don't know what pokemon you've got left, but it'd better be good because I still have Greninja." Ash claimed pulling out his final pokeball. "Let's get this over with. I want to get myself and my friends out of here pronto."

"Ash, my misguided friend, in your fifteen years of life you've faced more hardships and seen more phenomena than most people will in the arbitrary ninety plus years they get on this planet. You've faced Team Rocket, Team Magma, Team Aqua, Team Galactic, Team Plasma, Team Flare, bounty hunters, thieves, and would be oppressors all across the globe. You've time traveled, saved ecosystems, absorbed evil spirits, and defeated man-made monsters."

"Your point being?" Ash asked.

"All of those battles, and you've still never faced an opponent like my partner." Aaron gloated. "I'll admit you've given me a better run for my money than I thought you would, but in reality up till now, all of my pokemon that you've faced, they've just been childsplay compared to my partner. She's been with me since before I was an even an Aura Guardian."

"Aura Guardian?" Max exclaimed. "This guy? But I thought-"

"They were all dead." May finished stepping forward. "He's lying."

"Am I now?" Aaron quipped. He reached over and grabbed the staff that his lackey scientist had brought him. He twirled it around once in his hand, then pointed it towards the entrance. A bright blue bolt shot from the rock attached to the staff to the entrance where it stopped and lit up. It spread across the hole that Anabel had created covering it in a blue light before the effect faded away.

"What the-" Brock said. He stepped back to the hole in the wall and outstretched his hand. His hand came to a stop midair as he rubbed his hand to the left. "It's a wall. We're blocked in!"

"How?" Iris asked. She touched her own hand to it and felt the barrier for herself. She narrowed her eyes and shot her leg forward up against the barrier. The result backlash sent her staggering back a little as she rested her sore leg back onto the ground.

"Pure aura. Put enough of it together and it can make one hell of a barrier. Believe me now?" Aaron smirked. "I gave you all a chance to get out, but you all insisted. Now my partner and I will deliver your fates."

"If your partner's so great, why don't you let it out? Talk is cheap, you know. Let's see this magnificent pokemon." Ash said sarcastically.

"What are you talking about? I let her out long before this battle began. She's been observing you and your friends this entire time. She's right beside you, Ash. All you need to do is open your eyes."

"What are you on about?" Ash looked to his left then to his right. As he looked right he found a pair of disembodied eyes slowly open up inches away from his face. Ash let out a yelp as he fell backwards onto his back, slamming his head against the floor. Pikachu had jumped off his shoulder mid fall and landed safely on his stomach. He rested a hand on Pikachu's prosthetic back and slowly sat back up to find the pair of eyes looking down at him. "What is that."

All around the eyes of the creature, ripples were sent through the air slowly revealing a bipedal anthropomorphic figure. She was covered in various shades of black fur and had long red claws at the end of all four appendages. Her most striking feature, however, was her large red mane with black highlights running all the way down the length of her body, tied into a ponytail at the very end.

"A Zoroark?" Ash said bewildered. "Where'd you find a Zoroark?!"

"I didn't find her, she found me. She's been my partner since I was just a naive teenager." Aaron told him. Zoroark leaped into the air, soaring across the room and landed gracefully next to Aaron. Aaron turned to Zoroark and started petting her mane gently.

"You mean she's as old as you?" Anabel asked.

"She could be older. Who knows? I'm assuming you're familiar with the species?" Ash nodded to the old man's question. "Good. Then I'm sure you know how difficult this is going to be for you, Ash. Not too late to back out. We can forget the last five battles have ever happened. Last chance."

Ash got back to his feet with Pikachu hanging off his shoulder. "No. No backing out. We're winning this and leaving with all our friends."

"On the contrary, Ash. You may find you've already lost." Aaron told him.

* * *

I'd just like to say that I haven't been getting as many reviews lately. (which is fine, you're not obligated to review, obviously) I'd also like to reiterate that the only way for me to get better is for you to tell me exactly what I'm doing wrong. Even if you want to tell me you hate me and wish for me to die a fiery death tomorrow, if somewhere in that death wish you give me any criticism of any kind, I'll be grateful.


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